by SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Even though the calendar just turned to 2015, the start of the college lacrosse season is nearly upon us.
The Orange men’s lacrosse team kicked off the new year Monday with its annual Media Day inside Manley Field House. Head coach John Desko and the student-athletes previewed the upcoming season and posed for photos prior to Wednesday’s first practice session in Syracuse’s brand new Indoor Practice Facility.
Links: Media Day Photos | John Desko News Conference
Being able to work on 110 yards in the new facility was one of the first things Desko pointed out when asked about preparing for the season.
“I’ll tell you what, that’s tremendous,” Desko said of the new indoor center. “We were in Manley at this time last year, which is very good also, but having 80 yards isn’t the same as having 110. So we are really happy to get out there and get going on 110 yards.
“If you look at our seasons traditionally, we have such a great schedule, especially early in the year, that not having a full field has hurt us at times. If anything this year it should help us get off to a better start.”
The Orange opened last season 2-2 and finished the year 11-5 following a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Bryant. This year’s team is a veteran group led by the elite attack trio of Kevin Rice, Randy Staats and Dylan Donahue. All three players topped 50 points last year, the first time since 2001 the Orange boasted three 50-point scorers.
Staats had 56 points in just 12 games and was often the beneficiary of the attention paid to Rice, who earned All-ACC honors and ranked fifth nationally at 5.0 points per game.
“Anytime you have a group like that it’s hard to focus on just one player,” Desko said. “I think if you look at our stats a lot of people had their best defenseman on Kevin Rice, with all the points, and that left the second guy or the third guy to cover Randy and he was very productive.”
In addition to the firepower on attack, Desko expects sophomore midfielder Jordan Evans to play a larger role in the offense this year. The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2013, Evans battled injuries as a rookie and spent his freshman season learning both attack and midfield in the Orange system. With a firm grasp of Syracuse’s entire offensive scheme, Desko believes the Jamesville-DeWitt product is ready to contribute.
“I think what you are going to see this year is the Jordan Evans that we recruited out of high school,” Desko said.
Defensively, the team brings back a pair of preseason All-Americans in Brandon Mullins and Sean Young. The Orange also returns goalie Bobby Wardwell, who played the second half of most games last year in a rotation with Dominic Lamolinara. Junior college All-American and Iroquois Nationals star Warren Hill, among others, are challenging Wardwell for playing time. It’s a competition that will likey last throughout the preseason.
“Bob had a great fall,” Desko said. “Warren has had to come in and learn what it is to be on the man-down unit, clears, even riding in situations, and our different defenses. A goalie has to be a quarterback. He has to be the communicator of the defense. I thought Warren finished the fall very well, but Bob’s just been very consistent. He’s done a great job and has become more vocal this year.”
The Orange is the No. 4 team in this year’s Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Top 20, released last month, and was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in a vote of the league’s five head coaches.
The 2015 campaign begins on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Carrier Dome when the Orange hosts Siena in the earliest season opener in team history. Syracuse defeated the Saints in last year’s starter, 19-7.
