Josh Amidon remembers the play. And even if he didn’t, it’s only a click away.

The simple inbounds pass is only an eight-second flicker on YouTube with a stagnant view count of 297 – a far cry from another Amidon clip that’s drawn 859 hits. But this effortless assist from behind the net exemplifies why the Syracuse freshman enters the season as the team’s top backup at midfield.

Lafayette (N.Y.) High School teammate John Greeley subtly lulled a defender to his left about 10 feet in front of the net, dug his right foot into the grass, spun 180 degrees and bang, Amidon’s pass was there. Catch. Shoot. Goal.

‘Oh yeah, I remember it,’ Amidon said. ‘(Greeley) goes into the crease and does a buttonhook. They think he’s going to set a pick, but he’s not. He pops out, and it’s a quick shot.’

Such effortless instincts have already vaulted the rookie into a prominent role with the Orange. When preseason All-American Steven Brooks was held out of Syracuse’s scrimmage against Harvard last week with a turf toe, Amidon was inserted into the team’s top midfield line, alongside senior Brendan Loftus and junior Dan Hardy.

Syracuse head coach John Desko said he ‘fully expects’ Brooks to play Sunday against Villanova at 2 p.m at the Carrier Dome. The senior practiced lightly throughout the week.

Less clear is who will start in goal for SU. Desko has yet to announce whether junior Pete Coluccini or freshman John Galloway will get the nod.

Regardless, Amidon’s designed role is key in 2008. Injuries aside, he may be Syracuse’s answer to a sixth man in basketball or a change-of-pace running back in football – a fresh offensive threat off the bench that poses major match-up problems.

Desko plans to use the physical Amidon primarily as a defender, but knows his quick-transition mindset is a weapon he must utilize.

‘(Josh) being a two-way guy, it’s very nice to have him going from defense to offense and stay on offense,’ Desko said. ‘I think he’ll play a lot (this year). It depends on how the middies do early on and how our health is. He’s certainly going to be out there in defensive situations.’

Last weekend, Desko got a sneak peak. Amidon scored one goal and wasn’t shy around the net. His six shots were tied for second-most on the team. But it was one tic-tac-toe play in the Orange’s 14-9 win over Harvard that showed Amidon can play on Syracuse’s top midfield trio if needed.

Amidon fired a shot high, and it ricocheted off the post, right back into his stick. He instinctively flipped the ball to Mike Leveille, who passed it to Hardy. The 6-4 middie slammed it home, and the Carrier Dome erupted.

From the sideline, Brooks knew Amidon’s initial point-blank shot would clank off the high post. He’s been there. He knows players naturally prefer the ‘pretty’ goal.

‘I called it,’ Brooks said. ‘I said, ‘He’s going to stick this top right,’ and he hit the top right corner (post), it came back to him, and I was like, ‘Whoa!’ I kept telling him throughout the day to shoot low, but he doesn’t listen. He likes to rip it high-to-high like I did.’

The Brooks-Amidon apprenticeship isn’t something new. After being tutored into an ambidextrous player by Greg Rommel and Brett Bucktooth, the lefty Brooks is now returning the favor to fellow southpaw Amidon.

‘I asked (Brooks) how he got his right hand better, and he said he just kept working on it, so that’s what I have to do,’ Amidon said. ‘I’m in the same predicament he was.’

Brooks took a deep breath, looked ahead and smiled as if his own predicament were yesterday. Now it’s somebody else picking at his brain.

‘I gotta take someone under my wing,’ Brooks laughed. ‘(Josh) keeps asking me, ‘Hey, what do you think I should do,’ … I just help coaching him because people taught me so it’s time for me to teach other people.’

Amidon is a man of few words – Desko calls him ‘old school.’ Still, the former high school quarterback didn’t hesitate on whether he has an early comfort-level with Hardy and Loftus, both of whom also grew up in the shadow of Syracuse. His inbounds assist to Greeley and reaction pass on Hardy’s goal weren’t so different.

Both displayed chemistry, and Amidon thinks it will persist.

‘Yeah, definitely,’ Amidon quickly nodded. ‘Especially, these guys. They’re upstate boys…We all came in a little rusty, but you can tell right now we want that championship.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on February 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm