It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
The Syracuse lacrosse team was 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country last season when the coronavirus outbreak brought everything to a halt. Almost every player on that team returned for another run this year, raising expectations for the 2021 season to a level not seen around here in some time.
And then, the Orange got blown out at home for the second time this spring Saturday to fall to 4-3, the program’s worst start in four seasons. Has the sky fallen?
“Whenever you come in with such high expectations like that, obviously it’s going to be pretty frustrating when we’re sitting where we are right now,” said senior co-captain Peter Dearth Tuesday. “Those expectations haven’t changed at all, we’re just trying to narrow our focus a little bit and stop trying to think about the big picture so much.”
For most of the college lacrosse world, being 4-3 and ranked ninth in the national polls would be cause for celebration. But at Syracuse, where Final Fours used to be automatic, and where there was abundant reason to believe that’s where this season would end, it’s cause for concern.
Last time they started the campaign with four wins in their first seven games, the Orange finished with just eight wins and a first-round loss in the 2018 NCAA tournament. A repeat of that would qualify as a major disappointment for a team seeking its first trip to championship weekend since 2013, but SU players aren’t giving up hope.
“We still know what we’re capable of,” said leading scorer Stephen Rehfuss, who entered the transfer portal in December before deciding to return to the team in January. “We’ve still got that confidence, and it’s no time to be freaking out.”
“We’ve got a lot of little things that we need to get better at, so we’re just trying to take it day by day,” added Dearth. “[Trying] not to get too down on each other or frustrated at the whole thing. We’ve just got some small things that we need to fix up, as a team, and we think we’re going to be just fine.”
Orange coach John Desko, who’s won five national championships in his 20 seasons at the helm, points to possession, or rather the lack thereof, as one of the primary culprits. Syracuse ranks dead last in the ACC and 40th in the country (out of 65) with a face-off winning percentage of .463. In its last two games, both losses, SU has lost a whopping 30 out of 47 draws, for a win percentage of a measly .362. Clearly, it’s been a severe hindrance to a team that prides itself on its high-powered offense.
But, Desko has another finger to point, and that’s at the Ivy League. Lacrosse powers like Cornell, Princeton, and Penn aren’t playing this spring because the Ancient Eight decided to cancel its season because of the pandemic. That forced standouts like Princeton’s Michael Sowers and Penn’s Kyle Gallagher to transfer elsewhere in order to compete.
And both of those players played major roles in SU’s last two defeats.
“The Ivies are hurting us,” said Desko, whose team lost 15 of 22 faceoffs to Gallagher Saturday, and gave up three goals and three assists to Sowers in its March 25 loss to Duke. “But, we’re going to come to play. We’re going to give it our best shot, and we’re going to try to get through our possession woes at this time.”
Optimism still abounds around the Syracuse program, and for good reason thanks to a roster loaded with All-Americans, and a tradition rich with success. Yes, the Orange have three losses, but all three came against ranked teams, and there are three more top-5 opponents remaining on the regular season schedule.
But, with unranked Albany at the Dome Thursday night, another loss would cause even the most ardent believers to question, possibly, even the Orange themselves. For now, however, the party line is positivity, starting at the top.
“I think the attitude is good, you know, we think we’re a good team,” Desko said. “But, you’ve got to have the ball to score, and we’re spending a lot of time with that right now.”