John Galloway listed off the names on Virginia’s offense that stand as the biggest threats. Even when he thought he named them all, he remembered another.

‘Pick your poison,’ Galloway said. ‘You just have to be ready. Whoever has the ball, you have to be ready, you have to be on your toes, and you have to expect for them to shoot it. That’s what we’re preparing for this weekend.’

Syracuse will try to stop every one of those threats Friday when it takes on No. 2 Virginia (4-0) at the Carrier Dome at 6 p.m. The game will be the true first test of the season for No. 1 Syracuse (2-0), facing a team on its heels in the rankings. The Cavaliers have won seven of the last eight games between the two teams. For Syracuse to change that, it will need to stop an offense that features some of the best shooters in the country.

That’s not an easy task for the Orange, especially when it comes to Virginia midfielder Rhamel Bratton. The 2010 second-team All-American scored four goals on Syracuse in last season’s game and has quickness that makes him tough to stop. Syracuse head coach John Desko is going into the game with two defensive scenarios in mind.

In order to win this time, one of those scenarios must keep Bratton from repeating last year’s performance.

‘Bratton, he’s such a dodger,’ Desko said. ‘He’s so athletic and can get away from his defender. … You’re either going to get out there early and help him out, or you’re going to rely a little more on your goaltender and maybe them missing the goal.’

Even if Syracuse is able to remove Bratton as a shooting threat, there’s still Virginia’s potent attack of Steele Stanwick and Chris Bocklet. Both had two goals against SU last year, and Desko said much of Virginia’s offense goes through Stanwick. The Cavaliers dodge defenders and get the ball to Stanwick, who then finds the open players to create scoring opportunities.

Stanwick becomes even more potent when a defense’s focus is on him. Rather than finding other open players, he’ll get open himself and take the ball to the net.

‘He’s very opportunistic,’ Desko said. ‘If you overplay him in any way, he’s going to take advantage and try to dodge you.’

The past four games between Syracuse and Virginia were decided by only one goal. And in all of those games, the Orange gave up at least 10 goals to the Cavaliers.

Galloway said for a team that prides itself on defense, it’s an amazing statistic. And it’s one he wants to change on Friday. Galloway said he doesn’t want to see the Cavaliers score any more than eight goals.

Virginia was held to eight or fewer goals just once last season. In that game, no less, the Cavaliers won 7-5 against North Carolina.

‘That’s going to be our goal,’ Galloway said. ‘We’re not looking to get scored on more than 10 times by any means. Even seven or eight I think we’re going to look at as a failure.’

Both Virginia and Syracuse have experienced offenses, but the Orange is still trying to work out some of the kinks from its previous two games. That’s especially true when it comes to giving up fewer turnovers and not rushing the ball to the net.

The Cavaliers lack experience at defense, as two of the three close defenders are first-year starters. The Orange has a chance to exploit two inexperienced defenders who likely won’t be used to the atmosphere they’ll be in on Friday night.

‘We’re going to try and get the ball around a couple times, settle the offense,’ midfielder JoJo Marasco said. ‘We’re going to go right after them. We’re not going to give them a chance to settle or relax. They’re going to be in the Dome for the first time. It’s going to be tough for them.’

But against Virginia, the biggest responsibility will fall on the shoulders of the SU defense to stop the quick Cavalier shooters. That’s where the threat to Syracuse’s first loss of the season looms.

It’s also what’s driving the Orange defense to put a stop to the Cavaliers’ offensive attack.

‘This is one of the most offensively minded games in college lacrosse,’ Galloway said. ‘For people to talk about that all week, I think it motivates our defense to come out and put on a good showing.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on March 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman