Safety net
It’s no secret 2007 was Syracuse’s worst season in 25 years, ending with a 5-8 record and no NCAA tournament berth. The Orange allowed 11.38 goals per game last season, its worst defensive performance in a decade. But with new defensive coordinator Lelan Rogers and freshman goalie phenomenon John Galloway, Syracuse hopes this year is a different story.
Lelan Rogers had one primary goal when he was named Syracuse’s defensive coordinator before this season: Keep it simple.
‘My philosophy has always been to teach the basic fundamentals and keep things simple,’ Rogers said. ‘We want to think on our own and be creative, but there are certain things you just can’t do defensively. There are certain rules you have to abide by. We want to get this back to the simple basics of lacrosse.’
Right away, Rogers started making changes.
Last season, the Orange often changed its defensive package, sliding from adjacent against one team and sliding from the crease against another. Unfortunately for Syracuse, all the defenses were mediocre, none were great, and it allowed 11.40 goals per game.
This year, SU has just one base defense Ñ a basic slide from the crease Ñ and Rogers has implemented little wrinkles within that one set. As far as the Syracuse players are concerned, one very good defense is better than a bunch of just OK ones.
‘Some defenses got a little too complicated last season, and we had too many schemes,’ senior defenseman Evan Brady said. ‘This year, we said we are going to get back to the basics. We have one set defense. Instead of worrying so much about what the other teams are doing, we know as long as we’re solid, we’ll be fine.’
From the players’ perspectives, the new strategy has already started working. Brady said last season some defensemen, especially the reserves, wouldn’t pick up all the new defenses fast enough, leading to easy goals for opponents.
With just one defense, everyone from the top player to the last man on the bench knows the system well, and with that, will come fewer mistakes than a year ago.
‘We had a lot of different defenses last season,’ Brady said. ‘If you have a couple people on the field they may not have gotten as many reps in it. If you just have one basic defense, everyone is comfortable and has the reps.’
Syracuse opens its season Sunday against Villanova, and head coach John Desko still has not announced who will start in goal. Pete Coluccini has started every game the last two seasons, but his job has been in jeopardy ever since the Orange signed John Galloway, the reigning CNY Player of the Year from West Genesee.
Statistically, Coluccini regressed last season, his sophomore year, as his goal-against-average climbed to 11.27 from 10.20. His save percentage dropped from .555 to .514. And as goals started piling up for SU’s opponents, the fans lost confidence in the starting goalie, and the media started questioning his future.
Coluccini heard the rumblings, so all he could do now is vouch for his job.
‘High school to college, it’s a completely different game,’ Coluccini said. ‘It’s a big step. Anybody will tell you when you play in a college lacrosse game, there’s nothing like it. High school can’t really prepare you for it.
‘I hope after two years, I have the respect of my teammates, because we’ve been through a lot.’
To help make the decision easier, Desko and his coaching staff have kept track of every play the goalies have made in practice in an attempt to attribute hard statistical evidence to both goalies, something Desko said the program has never done before.
A month ago, Desko said he wanted to have a decision before the first scrimmage. If not, at least that scrimmage would at least help settle it.
So much for that.
Galloway and Coluccini have been in a competition all winter that has raised just as many questions as it has answered. In Syracuse’s first dual scrimmage against Hofstra and Le Moyne, the freshman Galloway seemed to have the edge, but regressed last Saturday against Harvard, when he allowed five goals in 30 minutes.
But Galloway came to Syracuse, his hometown team, with the intent on playing immediately. Now, it’s the classic case of the wily veteran against the hotshot rookie. And chances are, no one will know who wins until one of them steps onto the field Sunday.
‘I just want to help out the team as soon as possible,’ Galloway said. ‘That’s why I came here, to win a national championship. So if it’s pushing Pete, helping him out or me on the field, because that’s obviously where I want to be. We’ll see what happens.’
Though he didn’t join the team with the same hype and expectations as freshman goalie John Galloway, junior college transfer Sid Smith may play as big, if not bigger, a role to the team this season. He played for Onondaga Community College in 2006 and led the team to the NJCAA national title and was named to the All-America first team.
Smith will start at close defense this season, joining an experienced unit with two seniors. Already, he’s looked competent on the field and comfortable with Syracuse’s system. On Saturday in the scrimmage against Harvard, he scooped five groundballs.
After that game, Syracuse head coach John Desko had nothing but praise for the newcomer even though so far he’s looked like a veteran.
‘He’s telling some guys where to go, along with our goaltenders,’ Desko said. ‘And boy, how many times did he pick up a loose ball today, give us possession, make a good decision and help us clear the ball and get to the other end of the field.’
Published on February 12, 2008 at 12:00 pm
