Peter Macartney spent every day at practice last season watching Joel White’s every move on the field. And he’d ask questions whenever he got the chance. Even when the season ended, Macartney continued to watch game film to study the way White played with the intention of emulating the All-American’s style.

All that time and preparation is paying dividends. Macartney has picked up where White left off.

‘Following behind Joel, obviously, getting to watch him last year in practice every day, I learned a lot of from him,’ Macartney said. ‘Just picking up stuff from him every day in practice.’

After White graduated last season, the Syracuse coaching staff had to decide who would try to fill the void. Sophomore Matt Harris backed up White last season, but his natural position is close defense. Macartney impressed the SU coaches during fall ball and continued to do so in the spring. With Macartney proving capable at long-stick midfielder — making plays at both ends of the field and on the wing on faceoffs — Harris slid back to close defense full time, and the unit hasn’t missed a beat.

White left Syracuse as the all-time leader in ground balls with 283, and in points and goals by a defensive player with 28 and 18, respectively. The two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist was SU’s top long-stick midfielder his entire career.

When he left, it seemed it would leave a gaping hole. But that hasn’t happened.

Macartney impressed White not necessarily with his physical abilities, but with his foresight to take the time to ask questions and soak in as much information as possible.

‘As soon as he came in, his attitude definitely showed that he was going places, and he definitely had the mental capacity to take over and fight his way into the starting spot,’ White said. ‘… One big thing was he was always that guy to come up and ask questions. His ears were always open, too. Whether the coach was talking to another guy or to him, he always had his ears open and was listening.’

Macartney said White helped him improve his awareness on the field, always knowing where to be or who to slide to.

In SU’s game against Army on Sunday, it paid off.

With a little more than three minutes left in the first quarter, Army tied up the game at one. Nine seconds later, Macartney answered right back. SU midfielder Matt Pratt took a shot that bounced out in front of the goal, but Macartney was in perfect position, scooped up the ball and flipped it into the net to get the lead back for SU.

Macartney’s work on the wing during faceoffs, though, was perhaps even more important than his goal. The Orange won 16-of-22 faceoffs against Army, and Macartney was a big part of that. Time and again, he scooped up ground balls after faceoff specialist Chris Daddio pushed the ball out.

‘He does an incredible job of getting the ground ball in the faceoffs in practice,’ Harris said. ‘… We do a three-on-three drill in practice specifically for that, and it just shows. He gets every one in practice. He gets every one in the games.’

After redshirting last year, Macartney’s been a key part of the Orange’s first two wins this season. The sophomore said he arrived at SU expecting to play long-stick, but he also considered a switch to become a short-stick defensive midfielder if the position never became available.

A Colorado native, Macartney came to Syracuse after two of his high school coaches at Colorado Academy, Dan Pratt and John Zulberti, put in a recommendation to the SU coaching staff.

‘Without (Pratt and Zulberti’s) input and their coaching and everything, I wouldn’t really have gotten here,’ Macartney said. ‘I wouldn’t really have considered it if it wasn’t for them.’

His arrival gave Syracuse options in putting together its defense. Harris can play close defense, the position he’s used to, while Macartney gives the Orange a solid replacement for White.

Said Harris: ‘He’s working hard, and we’re all proud of him.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

 

Published on February 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman