MLAX : With graduation of 2 senior attack, revamped SU offense led by Keogh, Desko
Cody Jamieson found himself with the ball in his stick and the clock winding down. Syracuse and Cornell were knotted at seven goals apiece. The senior attack worked his way toward the goal and ripped a shot on target with three seconds left.
He was denied.
The rebound bounced off Big Red goaltender AJ Fiore, rolling free in front of the net. SU senior Chris Daniello scooped up the loose ball and, in a last-ditch effort, fired a shot toward the goal. The ball struck the back of the net just as the buzzer sounded.
Victory for the Orange.
No. 1 Syracuse won that game in April 2010 thanks to the heroics of Daniello on the chance created by Jamieson. That duo powered the SU offense a year ago, finishing first and second on the team in scoring. But this season, that same miraculous finish at Cornell won’t happen. Both Daniello and Jamieson graduated after 2010, leaving two big holes for the Orange to fill on the offensive end of the field.
‘We lose a lot of points with those two guys gone and leadership with the two seniors,’ senior attack Stephen Keogh said. ‘But there’s a lot of people ready to step up.’
Entering 2011, Keogh will be one of those people. He takes over as the most experienced attack for SU, having started since his sophomore year. He’s tallied 100 goals since coming in as a freshman and excels in his role of finishing around the net by capitalizing on feeds from teammates or putting back rebounds.
Besides him, there are some major questions as to how the rest of the Syracuse offense will fit together. But in Keogh’s mind, the team has improved from the start of the year.
‘Fall ball helped us a lot, and the first couple weeks, we’ve just been gelling together,’ Keogh said. ‘I’ve been playing with a lot of these guys for three or four years now, so you kind of know their tendencies and get to know the freshmen’s tendencies.’
Most likely to take over Daniello’s role is sophomore JoJo Marasco, who has drawn praise from teammates and coaches throughout the opening weeks of practice. He can play either attack or midfield — like Daniello — and will wear the legendary No. 22 this season. He notched 17 points last year, including 13 in a four-game stretch, before missing the final five games due to a leg injury.
As far as Jamieson’s replacement — and someone to play alongside Keogh — junior Tim Desko is among the leading candidates. The coach’s son has scored 25 goals through two years and executed maybe the most impressive score of 2010 with a back-to-the-goal, through-the-legs tally against Princeton.
Also competing for playing time at attack are transfers Collin Donahue and Tom Palasek and a bevy of freshmen, headlined by Billy Ward and Derek Maltz.
The offensive holes may not seem like a major issue with all the bodies in line to replace Jamieson and Daniello, but in reality, the attack position may be the biggest question mark of the upcoming season. The defense only lost one starter from a year ago and will likely fill that spot with an experienced senior. Head coach John Desko also said that four seniors — Jeremy Thompson, Josh Amidon, Jovan Miller and Jeff Gilbert — are leading the midfielders thus far.
‘The experience has the advantage right now,’ John Desko said. ‘I think they understand the offenses, as they should, better than the rest of the group, having four years of experience running similar offenses.’
But in the minds of Keogh and Tim Desko, the attack position shouldn’t be a spot of worry for the Orange. Over these next few weeks, they said, the offense should piece itself together — even without Jamieson and Daniello.
The bodies are there to replace those two former stars, now it’s just a matter of who it will be and how quickly someone emerges.
‘It’s coming together real well,’ Tim Desko said. ‘Once we get all the chemistry down from the new guys, we’ll be all set.’
Published on January 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm