It only took 45 minutes to erase two years of frustration for Kenny Nims.

For the past two years, the frustration had grown for Nims and his Syracuse teammates as Army had played the Orange tough in their men’s lacrosse contests. Though not a perennial power, Army had served as a pesky opponent for SU.

But on Friday night around 9:30 p.m., the frustration was finally gone from the minds of Nims and his teammates. Three quarters of dominating lacrosse that resulted in the largest SU win against the Black Knights this decade certainly did the trick.

No. 2 Syracuse controlled the final three quarters against No. 20 Army in a 17-6 win in front of 4,502 people at the Carrier Dome Friday night. Syracuse trailed, 3-1, in the first quarter, but outscored the Black Knights, 16-3, the rest of the contest.

‘We knew that once we started executing our shots would drop, and our defense played great all game,’ Nims said. ‘It feels great to have a big win here. They always play us tough, so it’s huge for us.’

Army has had an uncanny ability in the past to slow down the Orange. The Black Knights came into the Carrier Dome in 2007 and knocked off the then-No. 7 Orange, 8-6, to send the SU into its downward spiral.

Syracuse managed to knock off Army, 8-7, last season, but the Black Knights led at the half and the Orange had to hold off a late rally. The eight goals the Orange scored last year was a season low.

Though this year’s game seemed destined to be a low-scoring affair, as it had in the past, Syracuse instead scored the most goals against Army since the Black Knights’ last game in 2007.

‘I didn’t think 17 would be the number,’ said Syracuse attack Stephen Keogh, who finished with three goals and an assist. ‘They wanted to hold the ball. Once they get the lead, they kind of sit on it. But we kept going, our shots started falling and we calmed down.’

The game seemed reminiscent of the previous contests early. Syracuse’s offense did not show any flashes of brilliance in the first quarter, as Army stormed out to a 2-0 lead that soon translated into a 3-1 edge.

Syracuse’s first shots were wide, high and in every direction except that of the goal. Of Syracuse’s 16 shots in the period, only six were on goal. Syracuse eventually scored on its last shot of the period when Tim Desko shot high and to the right for the score.

Though Syracuse would outscore Army in the second period, 4-0, to take a 5-3 lead into the half, the game was still on par for what was expected. SU, though, expected better.

‘People were saying they had their half and their first quarter and they got up on us,’ Dan Hardy said. ‘We played terrible and we were still winning, 5-3, so we went out with a little chip on our shoulder and knew that we could take the game over anytime.’

Then the Orange took the game over quickly. Syracuse exploded for 12 goals in the second half to seal the game. Keogh, Josh Amidon and Nims scored three straight goals to run the Orange’s unanswered steak to seven goals and give the Orange an 8-3 lead.

Army would retaliate 45 seconds later with a goal of its own, but SU then went on a 5-0 run highlighted by a Matt Abbott interception that led to a Nims goal, giving SU a 9-4 lead. Syracuse led, 12-4, at the end of the third quarter and outscored Army, 5-2, in the last quarter.

‘I think what you saw today was a lot of their big-time players making big-time plays in the third quarter,’ Army head coach Joe Alberici said. ‘I felt pretty good going in at halftime, it was 5-3. In the third quarter, after a little bit of a slow start, we made a couple off defensive mistakes.’

Desko said he expected Army to be better than it was last year, yet his team did not make Army look like a better team than last year. His team took out its frustration on the Black Knights, and played like the defending national champions heading into a matchup against Virginia Feb. 27.

‘In the second half we were able to pull away, and I’m just happy for that type of game,’ Desko said. ‘It’s great to be pushed and have to work hard to win a game like this. So all in all, I’m happy with the win and get ready for next week.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on February 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm