John Galloway knew the decision needed to stay behind closed doors for 24 hours.

But after a shaky performance in the previous scrimmage, months of speculation and his emotions bursting, the freshman simply could not internalize the news.

‘I let my family and a couple friends know,’ said Galloway, whose voice then quieted to a whisper, ‘but not too many.’

At practice Saturday, Syracuse head coach John Desko announced that Galloway would be the Orange’s starting goalie against Villanova, and the incumbent Pete Coluccini would take over in the second half. Syracuse’s offense exploded for 10 goals in the first quarter, allowing Desko to play three goalies, including Al Cavalieri.

Galloway stood out. Desko’s platoon system may continue next week against Army, but in Sunday’s 21-6 win, one goalie gained ground.

Playing the entire first half, the rookie Galloway stopped five of seven shots, while Coluccini struggled. In 17:18 of action, Coluccini let three goals in and made only one save. With just less than 13 minutes of mop-up duty, Cavalieri collected four saves and allowed one goal.

Even in a rout against a team that lost six starters to graduation, Sunday carried significant implications between the pipes, where Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 rated freshman and the fair-or-unfair whipping boy for last year’s 5-8 season have been competing all preseason. After allowing five goals and making only two saves in SU’s 14-9 scrimmage win against Harvard, Galloway was still awarded the starting nod Sunday. Taking advantage was satisfying.

Maybe that’s what made Galloway shed a layer of political correctness after the game.

‘I mean, it’s exciting,’ he admitted. ‘It’s a dream come true. I’ve been nervous about it all fall. To find out that news, it was exciting.’

Desko wouldn’t declare Galloway as the team’s permanent starter, hinting at more double duty in the future.

‘John’s a freshman and obviously, he has four years in front of him,’ Desko said. ‘Pete, we’ve seen him play solid games in the past. We plan on using both of them.’

Galloway’s first save as a Division I goalie wasn’t easy. Shortly into the game, Villanova’s R.J. Lyons picked up a groundball near his own net and dashed upfield. He drove left and fought off an Orange defender 10 yards in front Galloway. The goalie crept out of the net a tad to shrink Lyons’ shooting angle and made the save.

Simultaneously, his pulse dissipated back to a normal level.

‘He came in pretty hard, and I got a little nervous at first,’ Galloway said. ‘But I read his stick, and it was fine. After that, I did settle down a little bit. Making the first save is the most important thing.’

Galloway found a rhythm from there. In addition to two cover-up saves in heavy traffic, he made another impressive save early in the second quarter when Villanova held a man-advantage. Villanova’s Tim Atkins received a pass and had a salivating, clear shooting lane at Galloway. Atkins cranked his stick behind his right shoulder and drilled the ball into the Galloway’s chest pad. The emphatic ‘thud’ could be heard from the press box.

Known for his quick-transition clearing skills, Galloway nearly hit Greg Niewieroski with a 60-yard laser, which would’ve led to a clear path to the net.

‘Well, I hit that in practice this week,’ Galloway said. ‘Unfortunately, I didn’t get it today. Coach kind of gave me a glare. I’ll try to make up for it, and hopefully the next time I’ll hit it.’

To Coluccini’s defense, rhythm is a two-way street. After the game, Coluccini tried hard to bite his tongue.

‘From a personal standpoint, it was definitely difficult,’ said Coluccini on entering the game in the third quarter. ‘I didn’t expect it to be that hard. I feel for these guys that have to come in and play defense and attack. … You get an opportunity so you can’t complain.’

Galloway said he was happy to see Coluccini get action, and that they have a relationship of mutual respect. Still, getting the starting nod did cue a temporary sigh of relief, even under the unorthodox circumstances.

‘Mentally, we’re just going to have to play with it,’ Galloway said. ‘That’s what the coaches want to do right now, and I think that they’re obviously making the right decision.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on February 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm