John Galloway’s face was plastered up on the JumboTron flashing signs of disbelief. He had just endured a four-shot barrage by Army, with his only moment of respite being a loose ball flung toward the stands.

Confronted with a two-goal deficit, the pressure grew stronger as he waited to click with his defenders as a cohesive unit and put a stop to the methodical Army attack.

‘Seeing Army and the way they were dictating the speed of the game in the first quarter, it seemed like it was going to be down to the wire,’ Galloway said. ‘We expected a dogfight, and that’s what it seemed to be.’

Finally, the unit came together as a force to cut Army off from the net. The Black Knights would score only three more goals after that point early in the second period, and Syracuse defeated Army, 17-6, Friday night at the Carrier Dome.

‘It started out a typical Army-Syracuse game,’ Syracuse head coach John Desko said. ‘They played very well in the first half, but we switched some things around in the second quarter and were able to pull away.’

Army, which came off a 14-point victory to start its season, kept the momentum up early with a few well-placed shots, sweeping the energy from right under the Orange with just minutes off the scoreboard.

The Black Knights’ Andrew Masiano got things started after receiving an inlet pass from Rob McCallion. From about 10 yards out, Masiano whipped a shot at Galloway, beating the goalie top shelf.

After trading goals with Syracuse, Army struck again with less than a minute to go in the first period. Already up 2-1, McCallion rode Orange defender Tyler Hlawati straight to the net before flicking the ball behind his head and into the net.

‘Defensively, we gave up a couple early there that I wished we hadn’t,’ Desko said. ‘We thought we knew what they were going to do, and we were just out of place. And we were pushed.’

But as McCallion pounded his chest, flocked with teammates heading back toward the sidelines for the quarter break, the defensive adjustments were underway and goals would become a distant memory for the Black Knights.

The Orange midfield and defense became a sponge, improving their timing and sliding while packing the defensive front, swallowing up nearly every attempt to advance made by the Black Knights and turning it into offensive production.

With four minutes left to go in the third quarter, Orange midfielder Matt Abbott crept just in front of the Army attack. When Black Knights midfielder Maisano attempted a cross-field pass, Abbott leaped in the air and picked it off, charging all the way back into Syracuse territory finding Kenny Nims for the goal.

‘Abbott picking the ball off to start the fast break, I mean you guys are probably accustomed to that, but that doesn’t happen in lacrosse too often,’ Army head coach Joe Alberici said.

Galloway got in on the act, too, intercepting two different Army passes headed behind the net and instantaneously clearing the ball. Overall, the Black Knights were only able to muster 12 shots after halftime, while converting on zero of its man-up opportunities.

Syracuse, on the other hand, was perfect in clears, going 7-for-7 in the second and third quarters and 5-for-5 in the fourth.

Just 30 minutes after everything seemed upside down, Galloway was on the sidelines catching his breath. There were still eight minutes left in the contest, but by then the Orange stood comfortably with a 10-point lead.

Not a bad turn of events for a goalie expecting a ‘dogfight.’

‘It’s nice to be able to just come out (of the game),’ Galloway said. ‘It’s nice to be able to take off your helmet and hang out in the fourth quarter. I didn’t expect it, but it was definitely a nice surprise.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on February 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm