About a week has passed since the #10 Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse team fell flat against the now #6 Army. The Orange came out firing on all cylinders owning a commanding 6-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, it was all downhill from there. The Black Knights outscored SU 16-5 through the next three periods en route to an 18-11 upset win.
Obviously, a season opening loss to a very talented Army squad isn’t the end of the world, but you have to remember the expectations this team had coming into last Sunday’s opener. With several starters back at basically every position, many set the bar as high as “National Championship or bust.”
Syracuse lacrosse expectations are plainly stated: ‘We’re not happy with a Final Four’ | https://t.co/h3ciSEXs1o
— Syracuse Lacrosse (@cnylacrosse) February 5, 2021
Well a trip to Memorial Day Weekend and the Final Four took a big hit with the loss to Army, SU has plenty of chances to redeem itself throughout the 2021 season. The path to redemption starts with weekend against #3 Virginia. Not only is this an opportunity to stabilize postseason hopes, it is also an opportunity to prove to the nation that this Syracuse team is not just a bunch of hype.
Some pointed to the fact that Army had an advantage because they had already competed in a game prior to the coming to the Carrier Dome. The Cadets played a scrimmage against Bryant in early February, then traveled to then #6 Virginia and lost 14-9 in their season opener. SU Head Coach John Desko thinks that played a factor in the game.
“With three weeks of practice I was hoping that our experience from previous years would help us,” Desko said. “But just not having any scrimmages or any games coming into Army and they’ve had some scrimmages and some games. They [Army] played like they have some experience and we played like we haven't had any.”
Syracuse midfielder Tucker Dordevic shared that belief with Coach Desko and said that the Army game was a learning experience for the team.
“We only started practice two weeks ago. Not using that as an excuse or anything, but it’s just time to learn from this game and move on to the next one,” Dordevic said.
It is clear from a coaches perspective and a players perspective how important preseason scrimmages are. You often hear that the best way to get better at lacrosse is to play lacrosse. The Orange learned some lessons from the first game and took their lumps to Army. Now the question is, was that an outlier, or a trend?
We’ll find out if SU can rebound on Saturday night, faceoff is set for 6 p.m. Don’t miss Countdown to Faceoff at 5:30 p.m., right here on WAER.
Don’t forget about SU Men’s Hoops coverage on WAER either. Coach Jim Boeheim and Company go on the road to play Georgia Tech on Saturday at noon. Countdown to Tipoff starts at 11:30.