Though his son will be starting at attack for Syracuse, Rich Marasco won’t be wearing orange on Sunday. He’ll be sitting with his family as close to the 50-yard line as possible, trying to stay impartial.

Because this weekend, the allegiance of the Marasco family is torn.

‘We generally go nondescript,’ Rich said. ‘We don’t wear Syracuse, we don’t wear Army. … To be honest, we’re probably a lot more quiet in that game when it comes to rooting for one or the other.’

When Syracuse (1-0) takes on Army (1-1) at the Carrier Dome on Sunday at 4 p.m., SU’s JoJo Marasco will take on his brother Matthew, a defender for Army. That leaves Rich in a precarious situation, watching his two sons try and hand each other’s team a loss. It will make it impossible for Rich or his wife, Anna Marie, to choose sides. Instead, they’ll sit quietly during the game, looking forward to when it’s all over.

Rich said he is forced to root for his sons individually. If JoJo burns a defender, he’ll be happy. If Matthew makes a great play on an Orange midfielder or attack, Rich said he’ll clap a little bit. That is, of course, if the great play isn’t against JoJo.

But knowing one son’s team will win while the other’s will leave with a loss is what takes the enjoyment out of the game.

‘It’s not my favorite game to watch when they both go against each other,’ Rich said. ‘It’s distressing.’

Sibling rivalry aside, Sunday’s game is also the first game between these two teams since last year’s NCAA tournament game. Syracuse fell to the Black Knights in the first round, a game stuck in the minds of every member of the Orange who experienced the game. JoJo was out with an injury and didn’t play in the game, but the loss still hurt.

When it was over, though, he still congratulated his brother. He watched Matthew and Army play Stony Brook the following week. For those 60 minutes, he wasn’t a member of the Orange. Instead, he was just a supportive brother who knew what the game meant to Matthew.

‘He kind of was quiet about it, didn’t really say much because I wasn’t playing,’ JoJo said. ‘It was a great moment for him. He’ll remember that win for the rest of his life.’

Sunday is the rematch. Syracuse will look to avenge its loss from a year ago, doing everything possible not to lose to Army again on its own turf.

When JoJo spoke to Matthew last night, they didn’t talk about the game. They didn’t have to. They know what it means for both sides. When all is said and done, the game goes beyond the field.

‘We just talked about normal things,’ JoJo said. ‘We didn’t even really talk about the game. It’s going to be exciting to see him because I haven’t seen him in two months.’

Rich at least doesn’t have to worry about watching Matthew cover JoJo during the game. Matthew told JoJo he will likely cover SU’s other attack, Stephen Keogh. But going up against a teammate’s brother won’t change the way Keogh plays.

If anything, Keogh said, he’s looking forward to the challenge of trying to beat JoJo’s brother.

‘I might try and throw some chirps in there, try and beat him to the cage and score a couple goals on him,’ Keogh said. ‘It’s a pretty cool feeling.’

So when Rich and his family watch on Sunday, they will be rooting for both sides. The only thing that makes this game easier to handle is it isn’t a postseason matchup.

It’s the postseason games when Syracuse and Army meet, when one son can help end the other’s season, that are the worst for Rich to have to sit through.

‘My biggest hope is that both teams will have excellent years,’ Rich said. ‘If they get into the NCAAs, hopefully it won’t be in the first round. If they meet in the semifinals or the finals, so be it. But to watch one knock the other out in the first round, that’s depressing.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

 

Published on February 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman