Perhaps Jay Pfeifer should invest in a pair of prescription Rec Specs. Last night, after allowing 16 goals to the Cornell lacrosse team, the Syracuse goalie had an explanation for his performance: Poor vision.

He couldn’t see the ball whizzing past him. Sixteen Cornell shots flew over, under and to the sides of Pfeifer, who was rendered a stone figure at the expense of the Big Red.

‘It was just one of those games,’ Pfeifer said, ‘where nothing goes right for you.’

But if that is the edict, then naturally something would’ve had to go right for someone. It was Cornell’s Joe Boulukos who shot seven of those balls past Pfeifer. After the game, Boulukos sat in the postgame press conference, his face painted a la Michael Powell. He beamed.

His team had just pulled off a 16-14 upset win in the Carrier Dome, its first win there since 1987, and he was the reason why. His coach, Jeff Tambroni, said Cornell went to the Boulukos Offense in the second quarter. It proved to be the deadliest scheme in the playbook.

‘I was just shooting the ball, closing my eyes, and hoping it would go in,’ Boulukos said.

It’s a plan that may work for midfielders, just not for goalies.

Last night wasn’t the first time Pfeifer complained of vision problems. Against Hobart on March 29, he had similar problems. But that was a night game in Geneva, and Syracuse escaped with a 13-12 win.

It seems to be a troubling pattern. Surely, Pfeifer’s used to the rigors of goalkeeping. He’s a four-year starter for SU, and a winner of two national championships.

But when the team’s leader complains of vision problems twice in a three-week span, something’s got to give.

‘It happens a couple games every year,’ Pfeifer conceded.

Pfeifer’s been stellar for many games this season, and has single-handedly won games for Syracuse with his goaltending. Even against Hobart, facing vision problems, Pfeifer made two late saves to preserve the victory. Against Brown on April 2, SU head coach John Desko essentially credited Pfeifer with the victory. But it also came with a warning: Pfeifer was playing so well that he was becoming a crutch for his teammates. Eventually, Desko said, Syracuse would falter and it wouldn’t have its leader to save it.

Against Cornell, it probably happened sooner than Desko would have predicted. Tambroni and the rest of the Big Red couldn’t have figured that their goals would come so easily.

‘We met before the game,’ Tambroni said, ‘and I told them they’ve got to take great shots against him. If you beat him to spots, they’ll go in. But if you don’t, he’ll make a lot of saves.’

Pfeifer finished with nine. But Cornell unloaded 34 shots. By the second half, Pfeifer was visibly frustrated. After one goal slipped by, Pfeifer clutched his stick, shaking it violently. After another goal, he fetched the ball with his stick and bounced it on the Carrier Dome turf. The referee, sensing Pfeifer’s anxiousness, patted him twice on the helmet, urging him to calm down.

‘(Pfeifer’s play was) atypical, yes,’ said Cornell attackman Derek Haswell. ‘But I do feel like we shot the ball well.’

That’s praise coming from Haswell. He, and the rest of the Big Red, knew what Pfeifer was capable of. It’s just that Pfeifer didn’t live up to his end of the bargain.

 

Published on April 12, 2005 at 12:00 pm