BALTIMORE — The Loyola men’s lacrosse team staved off the inevitable with announcements and ceremonies Saturday, but after 15 minutes, the game’s result was obvious.

The No. 11 Greyhounds’ Senior Day ceremonies at Curley Field delayed the opening faceoff 10 minutes but failed to derail No. 4 Syracuse in its 17-6 win.

“I didn’t think we’d have a good start with how long we were standing around for,” SU defender Sol Bliss said. “It’s always bothered me when we’re standing instead of warming up. I didn’t think we’d be as on top of the game as we were.”

Instead of starting slowly, Syracuse (6-2) enjoyed its fastest start of the season. The Orangemen led 4-0 after the first quarter and 9-1 at halftime. During most of Syracuse’s season, its offense has begun slowly. Opponents have gained possession of early faceoffs and dawdled in the Syracuse end to waste time.

Saturday, SU faceoff man Chris Bickel won the opening draw, and less than a minute later, forward Mike Powell found midfielder Steve Vallone for the game’s first goal.

Syracuse — with six different players scoring its first six goals — took a 6-0 lead before Loyola (5-3) found the back of the net with 8:16 remaining in the first half.

The SU attack confounded the Loyola defense with a variety of methods. After Vallone’s goal, three different Orangemen scored in one-on-one situations. Senior Mike Springer followed those flashy moves by unleashing a laser from the slot to put SU up, 5-0.

In all, nine different Syracuse players scored, and six found the goal at least twice. Powell and midfielder Sean Lindsay led Syracuse with three goals each.

By the end of the third period, SU head coach John Desko had inserted backup goaltender Nick Donatelli and sent his three starting attackmen to the bench. The win was Syracuse’s first victory over a ranked opponent by more than a goal since Feb. 22 — when the Orangemen drubbed No. 20 Army, 15-7 — and it marked Loyola’s worst loss since 1988.

“They have a lot of pieces,” Loyola coach Bill Dirrigl said. “They were very clean offensively and shot the ball a lot harder than we’ve seen all year.”

Powell said the offense got off to its best start of the season, outshooting the Greyhounds 21-12 in the first half. Bliss said the defense had its top performance overall. Meanwhile, the Orangemen completed 21 of 24 attempted clears and killed two of three penalties.

“We put it all together today,” Desko said.

Syracuse credited the defense’s improvement to better communication and a simpler game plan. Syracuse coaches often scrapped their complicated defensive system of slides and asked defenders to cover their men one-on-one.

Loyola attackers found their path to the goal stuffed. The Greyhounds managed contested shots from the perimeter and often had their sticks whacked midway through shot attempts.

While improved communication helped SU’s defense, it frustrated Loyola.

Bliss said the Greyhounds bickered throughout much of the game about positioning on offense.

“They were arguing with each other in the first quarter,” Bliss said. “We had them frustrated. We got them rattled early on. When they’re yelling at each other, it makes it easier for us.”

Dirrigl said he didn’t hear the yelling but didn’t seem surprised the SU defense had that effect.

“I didn’t hear it personally,” Dirrigl said. “They’re competitors. You do all you can. Sometimes, you say some things you don’t want to say.”

While Loyola complained of its blatant mistakes and miscues, the Orangemen looked under a microscope to find theirs.

“The Johns Hopkins and the Princetons are still getting better,” Bliss said. “I allowed a goal on a clear. I think we have to improve.”

Published on April 6, 2003 at 12:00 pm