Michael Powell made a promise to show the men’s lacrosse world something it has never seen before.

So when the senior broke out a trio of eye-popping moves last night, perhaps that was what he had been saving up.

Guess again.

‘That’s not it,’ Powell said, devilish grin across his face.

If it was, it would have satisfied Syracuse fans. With 10:35 left in the third quarter, Powell, on the near side of the field, whipped a right-handed shot over his left shoulder. How, you ask? Simple. He just shot behind his back, as casually as can be.

‘I probably shouldn’t say this in front of Coach (Desko), but I play a lot for the fans,’ Powell said. ‘I play for the people in the stands. I’m an entertainer. I’m not just out there to win ball games, but to help expand the sport of lacrosse.’

Said SU coach John Desko: ‘He plays to win games first. It might look like showboating, but a lot of times there’s just a better angle from behind the back.’

Either way, that wasn’t the only crowd-wower in SU’s 16-10 win over Hobart. Just two-and-a-half minutes later, Powell corralled a bounding ground ball by lifting his left leg and putting the stick underneath, bringing the SU contingent to its feet. After the game – when Powell approached the press-conference table – Desko joked, ‘Just don’t put the microphone between your legs.’

Less than a minute after that move, Powell, stationed to the far side of the net, again used the behind-the-back shot.

‘I think he picked one of them up in between his legs or something,’ senior Brian Nee said. ‘It’s unbelievable how he does those sorts of things.’

Top honor

For the 18th time, Syracuse won the Kraus-Simmons Trophy, given annually to the winner of the Syracuse-Hobart game.

And for the sixth time, former coach Roy Simmons Jr. delivered his pregame speech, designed to psych up the Orangemen and intensify the rivalry.

Last night, it worked.

Syracuse jumped out to an early 8-1 lead, perhaps a reflection of Simmons’ pep talk.

‘Simmons Jr. talked to us in the locker room, talked to us about what the game meant,’ junior Jarett Park said. ‘He talked to us about the history. He said it crushed him when he lost it the first time (in 1986). So we came out pumped up.’

The trophy is named after former Hobart coach Babe Kraus and former Syracuse coach Roy Simmons Sr.

The rivalry is also the oldest for Syracuse. The teams have played each other since 1916. Cornell, another upstate New York rival, began play in 1920.

‘They don’t know Roy Simmons Sr.,’ Simmons Jr. said. ‘I mean, they know the building is named after him. And they know he’s my dad. But I just wanted to give them a little taste of the rivalry. I don’t want to be greedy, but I didn’t want to see that trophy leave.’

Said Powell: ‘He’s the master of motivation. I’ve never seen someone as good at motivating 40 guys like that. He doesn’t have to raise his voice. It’s an honor to carry on the Simmons legacy, because we know we’re playing for something.’

After the game officially ended, the trophy sat untouched on the scorer’s table for a minute before Syracuse gathered in its postgame huddle. Then Desko asked where the trophy was.

‘Over there,’ senior Dan DiPietro said before jogging over to pick it up.

After hoisting it over his head, DiPietro heard the cheers of his teammates and departing Syracuse fans.

Taken to school

Last night marked the first time all year Syracuse played a weekday night game. It came just three days after Syracuse had a physically exhausting, 14-10 win at Princeton.

Were the Orangemen tired?

‘Princeton was a long game,’ Nee said. ‘But I think we got our legs back under us tonight.’

Said Park: ‘I was ready to play another quarter. We rotated a lot tonight, which helped. And our offense did a great job with possession, which gave the defense a good break.’

It also kept SU players on a tight schedule with classes and then a late game.

‘It felt like I was back in high school,’ Powell said.

This and that

Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim attended last night’s game. He watched from the third row in Syracuse’s press box. Missing, much to the dismay of television cameramen everywhere, were his wife Juli and children James III, Jack and Jamie. … Hobart brought a contingent of student fans, who stood all game. Said Park: ‘We have more local fans than student fans. But it doesn’t bother me (to have opposing fans). It pumps me up. … Syracuse will not practice tomorrow per NCAA rules.

Published on March 30, 2004 at 12:00 pm