Michelle Tumolo and Katrina Dowd stuck together each morning. Confidently throwing behind-the-back passes and executing intricate stick-work drills, they loosened up together before each day’s tryout.

They both vied for roles as attacks on the U.S. women’s national senior team in late July. When each 9 a.m. session began at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville, Md., they proceeded to pick apart some of the best defenders in the country.

The passes were point-blank. The cuts were quick and direct. The shots whooshed between the pipes and into the net.

‘We just really connected, me and her,’ Tumolo said.

They continued to mesh in the fall when they met for preseason training at Syracuse.

But when Tumolo stepped off the sidelines onto the field of the Carrier Dome turf for SU’s season opener against Boston College on Feb. 21, Dowd stayed behind. She stood next to head coach Gary Gait, preparing for her first game as an assistant coach for the Orange.

‘We’re both mature about it,’ Tumolo said. ‘We still are friends, but we definitely keep it the way it’s supposed to be because she’s my coach and I’m her player.’

As teammates on the U.S. team, they are equals. But in Syracuse, Dowd is often in charge of the attacks in practice. Tumolo is one of her mentees.

With Tumolo shooting and feeding on the field, and Dowd barking out orders from the sidelines, the Orange has jumped out to a 6-2 start and has ascended as high as No. 2 in the country, the highest ranking in program history. Syracuse is currently ranked No. 3.

As two of the most prolific scorers in the nation, the extra time spent together in Syracuse has only made them closer.

‘I would imagine, frankly this year coming up, they’ll actually play even better together because they’ve had more time together,’ U.S. head coach Ricky Fried said. ‘As the player-coach piece, I’m sure they’re playing because they’re both a little bit of lax rats.’

***

The pain was almost unbearable.

Tumolo takes losses hard. It is in her nature as a competitor, but after this game, the disappointment was worse than usual.

The eighth-ranked Orange had fallen just short of upsetting No. 1 Northwestern, the reigning five-time national champion.

Then a freshman in 2010, Tumolo recorded two goals and two assists to propel the Orange back from a four-goal deficit. But it was Dowd – then a senior for the Wildcats – who won the game, breaking a 12-12 tie with 1:28 left in regulation.

‘Obviously a tough loss against them by one,’ Tumolo said. ‘It was a really good game, but (I had) total respect for her because she was an awesome player.’

That summer, respect turned into friendship as the two grew close at the national team’s tryouts. Dowd saw similarities in their game – flair, passion and ‘an unbelievable first step’ – and took the 20-year-old Tumolo, who had just rewritten the Syracuse freshman record book, under her wing.

As crease attacks with similar playing styles, they quickly formed a bond.

‘Watching her, I was like, ‘That kid is really legit, and she’s going to get better,” Dowd said.

Competing for a spot against some of the nation’s best, Tumolo showcased the attributes that had drawn Dowd to her. Tumolo’s rhythm with Dowd as a potent left- and right-handed combination up top impressed Fried enough to give her one of the 36 spots on the team over older, more experienced players.

‘She would have moments that she would be brilliant and then moments that in some ways disappear at times,’ Fried said. ‘But we saw that spark and that potential.’

***

Katie Rowan watched them each morning.

An attack on the national team and former Syracuse All-American and volunteer assistant coach, Rowan was often on the UMBC Stadium field with Tumolo and Dowd before each tryout this past summer.

‘They’re always out there a little early working on their stick skills, working on their shots and some new plays,’ Rowan said. ‘I think that, that is evident when they play in the real game situations, that they have a chemistry, and they want to work what they worked on previously.’

Over the past three summers, Rowan has seen the bond grow between Tumolo and Dowd.

After Tumolo’s second year at SU, in which she led the Orange in scoring and assists, and Dowd’s first taste of coaching – learning under three-time All-American Liza Kelly at Denver – the two came to Syracuse this year, sharper and closer than ever.

‘I think we just know how each other plays, so we know when each other is going to cut, where each other is in attack offense,’ Tumolo said. ‘But we’re really quick with it. She knows how I play and I know how she plays, so it was really good to work with her at tryouts.’

With the Federation of International Lacrosse World Cup approaching in July 2013, Rowan said a year together at Syracuse will only solidify that cohesion.

‘I’m sure being at Syracuse, too, this year, that’s going to help even more in the World Games because they (will) have had time. Katrina has had time to see where Michelle likes to be,’ Rowan said. ‘And that will help even more over the summer when we play in Canada.’

***

The moment was pure ecstasy.

Tumolo scored the most important goal of her life, tying top-ranked Northwestern 9-9 with 51 seconds left in regulation on Feb. 29.

But if Dowd had never come to SU, Tumolo may never have experienced that joy.

In the spring, Dowd taught Tumolo how to use the goal to create space from her defender by running partially around the right side of the net before quickly turning and wrapping around the other way.

It worked against Dowd’s alma mater.

‘I was really proud that she stepped up and put it away,’ Dowd said.

After each goal Tumolo scores, she finds Dowd on the sidelines. Sometimes they’ll just lock eyes. Other times, Dowd will greet her with a Superman-esque celebration, pretending to tear back her shirt.

When Dowd received an email Jan. 1 listing the final 24-person roster for the national team, she knew the two would soon be celebrating on the field together once again.

‘I remember it said, ‘Below is the team,” Dowd said. ‘I remember right before I looked, and the only person I cared about who made it was Michelle Tumolo. And when I saw we both made it, that was a pretty special moment.’

This summer, they’ll be back warming each other up before each day’s session at UMBC. And they’ll be back competing for an opportunity to represent their country, this time in the World Cup.

‘Hopefully at tryouts we do as well as we did last year,’ Tumolo said. ‘It felt so good to have her at tryouts because we made each other look good.’

sebail01@syr.edu

Published on April 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1