John Desko has preached to his players all weeklong about taking advantage of their opportunities in the attacking zone when they get them.

Against a stingy Providence team – one that likes to extend its possessions to excruciating lengths – that message resonates with Syracuse’s offense even more.

‘We’ve just got to start finishing most of our opportunities,’ Syracuse attack Derek Maltz said. ‘Coach is really stressing to be very smart with the ball on the offensive side, capitalizing on our chances, and that’ll definitely come.’

The Syracuse (3-2, 1-0 Big East) offense will look to bounce back from two stagnant performances when it faces Providence (1-3, 0-1) in the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Orange attack has struggled to turn in complete performances in its last two games against St. John’s and Johns Hopkins, but a game against the Friars’ signature approach may be what SU needs to get back on track.

Against St. John’s on March 10, SU paid the price for a rapid pace early on. The Orange committed several costly turnovers in transition, allowing the Red Storm to take a 4-3 lead into halftime. Syracuse rallied, but its careless play pushed the Orange to the brink of defeat.

Midfielder Bobby Eilers said that in a dogfight against Providence, Syracuse will need to alter its approach to ensure it gets good looks at the net. That means controlling possession time, working the ball around the outside and extending the defense, especially when the Friars switch to a zone scheme.

Syracuse will also need to try and limit turnovers by not forcing shots, Eilers said.

‘You can’t be giving it to the defense all day. Then they’re going to be dog-tired at the end of the day,’ Eilers said. ‘… We’ll take another shot, a better shot, and that’s not going to go right back to the Providence offense and hurt our defense.’

In the last two meetings between SU and Providence, the Friars have gone to extreme lengths to dictate the tempo of the game. In each game, the Providence attack held the ball for up to five minutes at a time to keep the Orange attack at bay.

And last season it seemed to work. The teams were even after one quarter. With that sluggish pace, the Friars trailed by just one goal after 30 minutes.

‘One of the big things is to not get frustrated,’ SU defender Brian Megill said. ‘Play within yourself and let them make the mistakes and let us capitalize on them.’

With Providence intent on slowing the game down to great lengths, a more disciplined approach on offense could be what the Orange’s scorers need to wake up from its recent slump.

‘In today’s game, a lot of the teams are going to be stalling the ball against us, being very smart on their side trying to control the tempo,’ Maltz said, ‘and like I said, we’re just trying to work every day to get better, but it’s tough when you’ve got to practice really controlling the tempo. But we’re going to keep doing whatever to win.’

Eilers said Syracuse is not going to allow Providence to dictate the speed of play like it has in past games. SU has allowed the first goal in four of its five games this season, and with an early deficit the Orange attack has forced the issue.

That hasty decision-making after an early deficit in games has impeded the Orange’s attack at points this season. But on Wednesday, when the tempo will be crucial, the SU attack hopes to strike first and carry that momentum forward.

‘We want the first goal, we want the second, third and fourth,’ Eilers said. ‘We’ve been getting dictated by other teams throughout all our games this season. They’re scoring first, and they’re making us dig out of a hole. So we want Providence to dig out of a hole, and scoring the first goal is the key to gaining momentum.’

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on March 20, 2012 at 12:00 pm