Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMLAX | BUILDING STEAM: Orange could be No. 1 after 5th straight win
By Andy McCullough
Posted: 3/30/08, 11:53 PM EST Section: Sports
|
The labels don't mean much to John Desko.
No, the Syracuse men's lacrosse team's midfield trio of Steven Brooks, Brendan Loftus and Matt Abbott isn't the "first" line. It is the "blue" line.
And no, the freshly minted grouping of Dan Hardy, Pat Perritt and Jovan Miller isn't the second unit. It is "orange."
There's no apparent need for depth-chart hierarchy for the head coach of the No. 2 Orange. The team's 13-8 win Saturday - and the seven goals from Hardy, Perritt and Miller - over No. 18 Loyola (Md.) only reinforced that.
"It's really a matter of who's playing well that game," Desko said. "And fortunately, we have the numbers there to be able to say, 'Ok, jeez, you know, it's Pat and Danny today. We're going to go with them more in this game, than we do with the other midfield (line).'"
The line jumpstarted a game stuck in the quicksand of Loyola's muck-and-grind style and led the Orange in front of 4,570 fans at the Carrier Dome. It was the team's third win in seven days, fifth in a row and the third time this season that Syracuse (7-1) defeated a team it lost to last year.
And with No. 1 Virginia's loss to Maryland Saturday, there's the chance that today, Syracuse could be ranked at the top of the polls for the first time since 2004.
Hardy and Perritt, juniors and roommates on South Campus, each had a hat trick. Their new freshman partner Miller added a goal of his own and assisted on a goal for both his line mates.
It was their fourth game together, after Desko shook up the lines before a 14-13 overtime win against Johns Hopkins on March 15.
"I think we're really starting to mesh," Perritt said. "I mean, the first game, it's a little tough when we're playing together. As every game goes on, we begin to feel more and more comfortable with each other."
Be the first to comment on this story