On a day when the Syracuse offense struggled to put points on the board, there remained one constant in SU’s offensive attack in Saturday’s exhibitions: Jovan Miller.

A lack of chemistry among the offensive players didn’t seem to affect the senior midfielder, who scored four goals over the course of two games.

‘Me and my comrades, my fellow seniors, it’s really up to us to relax everybody,’ Miller said. ‘So anytime I saw an open shot or an open opportunity, it’s definitely in my best interest for the sake of the team just to calm them down.’

During the offseason, Miller said he worked on shooting from longer distances and picking his spots better to improve his accuracy. He said he missed some goals last season because that part of his game wasn’t as good as it could be. This season, though, he should have the ability to pick his target when he shoots. All because of some offseason work.

Miller scored the Orange’s first goal of the day, finding the lower right corner of the net in SU’s game against Hofstra. But that was only the start for Miller. Against Le Moyne, he scored 43 seconds into the game, sending a shot from about 15 yards out into the top of the goal.

Miller scored in the second quarter when he took a pass from Stephen Keogh from 10 yards and sent the ball into the net while running to his left across the field. He scored once more in the second period to complete his hat trick against Le Moyne.

In the offense’s first experience of 2011 playing against a defense that wasn’t on its own team, Miller had no problem making the adjustment. After the losses of Cody Jamieson and Chris Daniello, two of SU’s leading scorers over the past couple of seasons, the Orange is looking to Miller for increased production. One more reason why that increased accuracy is going to be crucial for Miller’s individual success and that of the team.

‘We’re going to have to go to Jovan,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘We’re expecting him to be one of our biggest threats offensively as a dodger. … He’s one of our seniors, and we’re going to look for him to go to the goal.’

Defense shaky to start

Two goals in 40 seconds.

That’s the way Hofstra started off against the Syracuse defense in their exhibition game Saturday. For a unit that’s considered one of the best in the nation, the Orange came out slowly, and Hofstra took advantage.

‘Coming into the first scrimmage, the first game, everyone’s got a little bit of the jitters,’ senior defender Brian Megill said. ‘As soon as we all settled down, we all came into our own.’

It was an inauspicious start for Syracuse in its first exhibition game of the season, going up against Hofstra and Le Moyne on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. The Pride bested SU’s defense 6-5, but the Orange rectified any defensive issues in the second game, a 10-5 win over the Dolphins.

Perhaps most surprising was that both early goals were against John Galloway, one of the best goalkeepers in the nation. But other than those two quick goals, Hofstra never scored in the first quarter. In the third quarter, with Matthew Lerman in the goal for SU, Hofstra scored twice more in the span of only 31 seconds. Desko said the Pride may have been more ready than the Orange, having already played a game against Le Moyne earlier in the day.

‘Hofstra had the first game, they were ready to go against us, they were all warmed up,’ Desko said. ‘I thought we came out a little cold in the first quarter and gave up some goals and tightened up as the day went on.’

With any nervousness gone, the Syracuse defense came out stronger against Le Moyne. Galloway didn’t give up a goal until there were only seven seconds remaining in the first quarter. But like the Pride, the Dolphins also found a way to score back-to-back goals, scoring two in 11 seconds in the third quarter on Lerman.

Still, there isn’t any concern about the defense, especially because it’s the first exhibition game of the season. Overall, Megill said the defense played as well as he would have wanted it to play. If anything, those early goals gave Syracuse something to think about going forward.

‘We just gotta communicate more,’ Megill said. ‘I thought our intensity was there. We can’t let those early two goals score next time. I think a thing we can work on is coming out a lot faster.’

Bratek steps up

Desko expected to give some true freshmen playing time Saturday, letting them have a chance to prove themselves in a game. He said the ones who step up will get more playing time, and those who don’t will remain on the sidelines.

If Desko sticks to that idea, then Jake Bratek might be getting some opportunities in the regular season.

The freshman midfielder scored against Hofstra with 5:25 left in the game, sending the ball to the left corner of the net past Pride goalkeeper from about 10 yards out. Bratek said he felt he had shown his coaches enough in practice to earn the chance to play in the exhibition but wasn’t positive he’d get in.

‘After I got my nerves out, it all kind of clicked,’ Bratek said. ‘I had my first goal, and that felt great. … I think I came out here and did exactly what I was hoping to do, just a supporting role that the upperclassmen can trust that I’ll get the job done for them.’

It’s possible Bratek may have done plenty to prove himself, impressing Desko with an aggressiveness that isn’t always typical of freshmen.

In Desko’s eyes, Bratek was one freshman who stepped up.

‘He came out playing hard,’ Desko said. ‘He didn’t play like a freshman waiting for something to happen. He went out and tried to make things happen. He played well.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on February 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman