Billy Ward to Scott Loy.

Loy to Pat Powderly.

Powderly to Derek Maltz.

They’re not the expected scoring combinations for Syracuse. In fact, they may not see much time in Orange box scores this year.

But against Canisius on Thursday, those freshmen got their chance to shine.

After SU’s starters played nearly the entire first scrimmage Thursday and downed No. 6 Maryland 11-9, it was time for No. 1 SU’s slew of freshmen and reserves to get involved. While first-team veterans shouted out instructions from the sideline, the Orange youngsters provided a glimpse of the future with a 10-6 scrimmage win over Canisius in the Carrier Dome. The freshmen combined for six goals and four assists, impressing some of their older teammates along the way.

‘The young guys looked great,’ senior attack Stephen Keogh said. ‘It’s good to get those guys in a game situation. Canisius is a good team and just getting them reps, they get to run the offenses and the plays. I think it was good.’

In the first half, the first-year players provided for themselves while also getting some help from the more experienced backups.

Ward scored just more than six minutes in on a feed in front from junior Collin Donahue. Loy whipped an unassisted goal past Golden Griffins goalie Sean Callahan from 15 yards out. Freshman Jake Bratek got in on the action off another assist from Donahue.

Those tallies helped SU take a 6-3 lead into halftime. But it was after the break when the freshmen started finding each other.

Ward flipped a pass to a wide-open Loy on the crease from across the field to make the score 7-3 with 5:26 left in the third. Canisius was able to pull within 8-6, but Powderly found Maltz cutting to the front of the goal for another score with six minutes left. Just more than a minute and a half later, Loy found Powderly wide open in transition for an easy goal to cap off the scoring.

‘It was great,’ Orange head coach John Desko said. ‘I thought for our younger guys to get out there against a team like that and do some things well, play some defense at time, I thought that was a very good experience for our group today.’

Buhr controls X after Thompson injury

Jeremy Thompson simply couldn’t stand any more.

He had just carried the ball to the top of the offensive zone when he collided with a Maryland defender. He immediately turned and started hobbling away from the goal. He got rid of the ball to a teammate, and once the whistle blew, he collapsed to the Dome turf.

Thompson’s leg connected with a Terrapin defender’s knee. As the Orange sideline held its collective breath, trainers ran out to check SU’s fifth-leading scorer and its top returning faceoff man from a year ago.

The senior suffered a bruised thigh and did not return to action. But Desko said he could have continued to play if the game were more than just a scrimmage.

And while Thompson sat out, freshman Ricky Buhr took full advantage of his opportunities in the faceoff X. After Maryland won five straight faceoffs in the third quarter and took a 7-6 lead, Buhr trotted out to midfield. He won four straight for the Orange and finished 5-of-7 in the game, while the trio of SU Chris Daddio, Josh Knight and Tim Harder won just 7-of-15.

‘He’s been doing that for awhile,’ junior attack Tim Desko said. ‘He’s a freshman, so for him to be comfortable, he’s just doing what he does.’

For real next time

After four scrimmages and a newfound offensive confidence, the Orange has 10 days of rest before its Feb. 20 season opener against Denver. And for sophomore JoJo Marasco, that means 10 days to get ready for the Pioneers.

‘Now it gets really serious,’ the attack said. ‘We get to focus this whole week on Denver. We get to watch practice, know all their guys, their defense, their attack.’

And although the games became that much more important now that they count, Marasco said he’s excited for the week ahead.

‘It’s nice to have a whole week just focusing on one team and just worrying about them,’ he said. ‘It’s going to be exciting. Our team’s looking better each game. We’re getting better and better. Now it’s serious.’

As for the progress through the preseason, John Desko is happy with how his players are coming together. The offense looked significantly better Thursday than it did in the first two scrimmages, and Desko said he was pleased with where the Orange was at this point in the season.

‘I think we’re figuring out who our people are and the combinations that we can use to start with,’ he said. ‘Like every season, we tend to adjust as the year goes on. Some players step up in another game, and we try some different combinations, and they get more chances if they do well. I think we’re right about where we should be right now.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

 

Published on February 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm