John Desko could feel the difference as time crept off the clock for his Syracuse men’s lacrosse team against Binghamton Saturday, a stark contrast to how he had felt the past four weeks.

Instead of a three or four goal deficit against a top 10 opponent, Desko’s team had a more than 10-goal lead. Instead of frantic play from his front-liners, he had time to rest his starters.

Instead of tension, he had relaxation.

Desko wasn’t complaining.

‘It definitely had a different feel to it going into the fourth quarter than it has the last few games,’ the Orange head coach said. ‘It’s been a month, you know.’

After four games filled with anxiety, Syracuse (5-1) got a rest. Life was easier at the Carrier Dome: a 16-2 win over the Bearcats (2-2) in front of 5,011 fans, the largest home crowd this season, in the second-ever meeting between the two programs.

It was a breather the team had earned.

What a month it had been for the No.3 Orange, a tense slog packed with four straight one-goal games – the last three stretching into overtime – during which the team went 3-1, jumped into the Top 5 in the polls and re-established itself as a Final Four contender.

The Orange held off Army 8-7 on Feb. 24 before embarking on a brutal stretch to begin March, with road games against Virginia and Johns Hopkins bookending a home clash with Georgetown.

But the Orange took two in a row after losing to UVa at the Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. All three went into an extra session, with senior midfielder Steven Brooks scoring to send the first two into overtime. Then he netted the game-winner against Hopkins.

There was no need for more heroics from Brooks Saturday, though, no need for furious rallies in the fourth like they had against Georgetown and Hopkins and no use for overtime adjustments.

And Desko had no problem with that.

‘It was good to have the lead,’ he said. ‘Though I didn’t think it was enough of a lead at halftime at whatever it was, 7-1 . . . I thought the team did a better job executing and it definitely it was more relaxed as the game went on today.’

Syracuse chugged to a 7-1 lead after two quarters, then cruised through most of the second half, subbing in backups liberally. Mike Leveille racked up his usual day: four goals and an assist for the senior attack.

He wasn’t alone on the score sheet. Dan Hardy had two goals and two assists, while fellow juniors Matt Abbott, Greg Niewieroski and Kenny Nims each had three points.

‘It’s a bit of a relief,’ Leveille said of the easy victory. ‘Those games are stressful. But, you know, we knew we had to come today and play hard, and get better. And I think we did that today.’

The physical advantage for the Orange was clear early on. Bearcat goalie Larry Kline, who finished with nine saves, stands 5-foot-6 and tips the scales at 160 pounds. Leading scorer Chris Mulheron – held by the SU defense to two shots – is 5-foot-7, 180.

‘I noticed that,’ Brooks said. ‘We thought we were bigger than these kids. These guys weren’t that tall. I mean, they worked hard and they came out fighting. But I felt like we had a size advantage for sure.’

It was a dominant performance for Syracuse. It had more shots (45 to 20), more groundballs (43 to 25) and fewer turnovers (19 to the Bearcats’ 27). And in giving up just two goals, it pitched its best statistical defensive performance since 1989, when it stomped Penn 22-1.

SU goalie John Galloway gave up just one goal in three periods, as the freshman stopped five shots. Sophomore Al Cavalieri played the fourth, as Desko and his staff juggled the line-ups with the game in hand so younger players could get time.

The stat sheet afterwards was full of fresh faces: freshman Stephen Keogh scored two goals in the fourth quarter while Josh Amidon and Chris Daniello each scored once and scooped two ground balls.

So Brooks, like Desko, had a different goal for the fourth quarter this time.

‘Just trying to get everybody on the field,’ Brooks said. ‘Just trying to get everybody an opportunity to play for Syracuse. It’s every kid’s dream come true to play here.’

It might not be a statement win like last week against Hopkins – ‘Beating a big dog is a big win,’ Brooks said. ‘I like that.’ – but it will do.

‘5-1 [this year] compared to 5-8 last year?’ Brooks said. ‘We’re on a roll.’

ramccull@syr.edu

Published on March 22, 2008 at 12:00 pm