MLAX : McDermott 1st to out-duel SU’s Brennan
Syracuse head coach John Desko noticed the unusual cheering section for one Loyola (Md.) player.
With his own contingency of fans, Loyola faceoff specialist Tim McDermott did something no faceoff man has been able to against the No. 2 Orange: out-duel Danny Brennan. McDermott finished the game 13-of-22, playing merely 30 minutes away from his hometown of Homer, N.Y.
‘(McDermott) was playing basically at home in front of his home crowd,’ Desko said. ‘So there was some extra incentive there.’
Brennan, who entered Saturday first in the nation in draws, was only 10-of-19 at the faceoff X. The senior McDermott was able to match Brennan’s upper-body strength and gain possession for Loyola.
‘Timmy is an excellent faceoff guy in his own right,’ Loyola head coach Charley Toomey said. ‘We knew we had a terrific player there as well. I thought those guys did an outstanding job of just tying each other up. It was a game within a game.’
McDermott won all three of the duo’s first-quarter draws – possibly the biggest reason Loyola managed to establish its slow-down offense. With the extra possessions, Loyola kept Syracuse’s dangerous attack unit waiting at midfield and took a 2-0 lead.
Brennan was called for multiple false starts, which forced backups John Carrozza and Jake Moulton to take a combined five faceoffs. The Orange lost four of the five.
‘There were so many violations with each faceoff guy trying to get an advantage,’ Desko said. ‘As far as our games are concerned, this is the one that had the most violations that I can remember so far this season. Whether it was both guys being anxious, or officials maybe looking for something, it had a different feel to it today.’
Saturday’s game was a microcosm of a new NCAA rule to spark more scoring opportunities. When a faceoff violation occurs prior to the whistle, the guilty team’s faceoff player must exit the field and be replaced through the substitution area.
This rule may have thrown off Brennan’s rhythm, but Desko said the false starts didn’t influence the game.
‘I don’t think either team scored today with the faceoff guy coming off because of a violation,’ he said. ‘So, (the new rule) doesn’t seem to be as effective as the rules committee maybe thought it would be.’
McDermott, whose brother, Brian, is Virginia’s top faceoff man, played his last three years at Geneseo on the Division III level. With the Knights he went 202-of-298, and so far this season he is 53-of-77 (69 percent).
Jovan Miller was an all-state running back at Christian Brothers Academy last year. On one play toward the end of the first half, he showed why.
Syracuse led 5-4, but Loyola sophomore Taylor Ebsary stormed down the left sideline with the ball on a break. Perritt swung his stick to back-check the ball out, and Miller scooped it up. Ebsary plucked the SU freshman around the neck with his stick for a penalty, and the agile Miller instinctively spun away from two straight body checks, before finally releasing a fall-away pass to Hardy.
Hardy didn’t score on the play, but the Syracuse crowd erupted into a standing ovation. As he exited the field, Miller pointed to the far-side crowd. It was the boost SU’s offense needed.
‘I think (the play) was definitely an energizer for the team,’ said Miller, who finished with one goal and two assists.
Desko was quick to credit Perritt, who tracked down Ebsary and jarred the ball loose in the first place.
‘We’ve been trying to ride all year long,’ Desko said. ‘When you have two good athletes like Pat Perritt and Jovan Miller, they can hunt some people down and get after. I think Pat did a nice job on that play recognizing that Jovan was behind him.’
Toomey matched his top man-to-man player, Steve Layne, on Syracuse’s Mike Leveille, but SU’s leading scorer still managed to dip his shoulder and score off of his go-to spin move, finishing with three goals and two assists. …. Leveille also extended his number of consecutive games with a point to 47, the second-longest current streak in the nation . …. Saturday’s game marked the first time this season the Orange had three players record hat tricks (Hardy, Leveille, Perritt).
Published on March 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm
