Chris Schongar took a moment to reflect on the wins he’s been a part of in his four years at Albany.

Beating Johns Hopkins his sophomore year was a good moment. Taking down Princeton the next was all right, too.

But, like his head coach Scott Marr, Schongar has never seen a win over Syracuse while donning purple and gold. And as Schongar heads toward graduation, and the newly formed Big East conference potentially takes Albany off the Orange’s schedule after the 2010 season, both see Friday’s contest at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome as the perfect opportunity to get what they’ve been looking for.

‘I’ve been playing them for four years now,’ Schongar said. ‘And just to beat a Syracuse team would be awesome.’

It’s not like Schongar and Marr haven’t come close. Since the teams began playing consistently in 2004, the Great Danes have inched closer and closer to taking down its in-state opponents.

In 2005, then-No. 13 Albany came within one goal of upsetting then-No. 7 Syracuse. The next year – Schongar’s freshman season – an unranked Great Danes team took a ninth-ranked Orange squad to overtime before falling victim to a Brett Bucktooth goal with two minutes to go in the Carrier Dome.

‘It’s huge,’ Marr said. ‘Certainly it would be nice to take down another one of the top teams in the country. It’s an opportunity and it would certainly boost our program if it happened.’

This season presents Marr with another solid opportunity to make a run at the team he’s now comfortable referring to as a rival. The No. 18 Great Danes (6-4) have a pair of attack in Joe Resetarits and Brian Caufield that fuel the team’s high-powered offense with a combined 44 goals. Couple that with defensemen Schongar and Mike Banks, and the team is riding high into Friday.

‘During this week we’ve been working on stick skills and fundamentals – details, details, details,’ Banks said. ‘We’ve been making these preparations for Syracuse.’

But for Marr, playing No. 3 Syracuse (9-2) on a yearly basis is more than just headhunting. Playing games in the Carrier Dome means exposure. Facing off against one of the top teams in the country equals experience. A presence in central New York establishes a recruiting pipeline.

It’s the reason why Marr was quick to reschedule the Orange for at least next season. With the new Big East schedule starting in 2010, there is less room for Albany on Syracuse’s schedule. So Marr took action and get on the phone with SU head coach John Desko.

‘With John, I try and get to him as early as possible to make sure we can continue the rivalry,’ Marr said. ‘As a coach you’re trying to do the best for your program and your kids and you certainly want to have Syracuse on your schedule.’

Albany athletic director Lee McElroy wants to see the series continue, too. Having two New York schools establish a rivalry is something he looks forward to seeing in the future.

‘I know Syracuse has dominated the series, but it’s been very competitive,’ McElroy said. ‘Both teams play a very upbeat style game and so we want to continue this series as long as we can.’

Although McElroy won’t predict the outcome of Friday’s matchup, he thinks the Great Danes will come out strong after a loss to conference rival UMBC last Saturday.

Said McElroy: ‘Well, I don’t want to make to make predictions because I don’t want to put too much pressure on the kids or coach Marr, but I will say this: what we want is 100 percent effort, and we’ll let the results take care of themselves.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on April 19, 2009 at 12:00 pm