Midway through the 2012 season, Bobby Wardwell finally found himself in the middle of Syracuse’s goaltending rotation. He finally earned a start. From his first day in net, Wardwell never relinquished the role.

The revolving door of goalies stopped at Wardwell. It was a job he’s been preparing for since second grade.

That’s when he started playing regularly, and climbed through the ranks to become one of the best prospects in New York state. Wardwell came out of Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, N.Y., rated the No. 2 goalie in the Class of 2011 by Inside Lacrosse. Now he is SU’s incumbent starter, a more confident goalie and a reliable force between the pipes.

“We knew him coming out of that area, a lot of people in that area were talking about him at an early age,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. “We thought he was one of the best high school goalies out there, if not the best one that we had seen.”

It took years for him to get there. But there was never a doubt about his talent. Wardwell’s father, David, played lacrosse for four years at Watertown (N.Y.) High School. He introduced his son to the sport when Bobby was just a kindergartener.

They played around in the backyard at first. Then David Wardwell found a way to get his son onto the lacrosse field.

Capitalland Lacrosse was a program in Clifton Park that included youth camps and leagues. Wardwell joined the second grade league, playing with minimal equipment and a sponge ball. He ascended through the leagues and age groups.

Those nights in the Sportsplex at Halfmoon built Wardwell into a “lacrosse rat,” said Chad Finck, co-president of Capitalland Lacrosse.

“He came at a really young age. He just went through the ranks,” Finck said. “After a period of time, he kept growing and getting so good and so good.”

It wasn’t until about fifth grade when Wardwell found himself in the cage, David Wardwell said. His travel team needed a goaltender and asked for volunteers. Wardwell stepped up and went between the pipes. He stopped shots fired from kids three or four years older than him all night long.

“When you see a young kid like that who wants to get in cage, it’s a little bit rare,” Finck said. “Most kids don’t want to get hit by the ball. As time went on, he just stayed in the cage.”

Wardwell continued to get better. He played in several different leagues through middle and high school. When he was in eighth grade, he started playing in a league filled with Division-I lacrosse players, stopping shots from players who spent their spring seasons suiting up for respected lacrosse programs like Albany.

That’s also when high school coaches started to take notice of how good he was. As an eighth-grader, he was invited to try out for the varsity team at Shenendehowa High School. He made it. He started every one of the Plainsmen’s games for the next five years.

Wardwell’s coach at Shenendehowa, Chuck Holohan, said one of Wardwell’s greatest strengths was his outlet pass on clears. Holohan said he could throw it “60 yards on a rope.”

“His ability to throw the ball and his ability to run was phenomenal,” Holohan said.

In the second half of the 2011 Under Armour All-America Game, Wardwell made a staggering 13 saves to lead the South to an 11-9 victory over the North.

By then, though, Wardwell’s collegiate future had already been sorted out. His dream was to play at Syracuse. He made that official during his junior season.

“Junior year I committed here. I think every kid from Upstate New York wants to come play lacrosse at Syracuse,” Wardwell said. “It was between Cornell and Syracuse.”

Cornell lost out on Wardwell. He joined Syracuse and was immediately thrown into the mix for the starting goaltender spot. But three weeks before the Orange’s first scrimmage, Wardwell injured his hand and decided to take a redshirt season.

It wouldn’t last long.

Syracuse started the season with plenty of depth in the goaltender rotation, but no defined starter for the long term. Matt Lerman held the advantage going into the season after serving as John Galloway’s backup in 2011.

Lerman never grabbed hold of the job, though. His inconsistency forced Desko to try someone else in net.

Syracuse turned to Dominic Lamolinara. His first start came in the Orange’s game against Providence. He made four saves and let in six goals in SU’s 10-6 win. But two straight losses followed. They were critical losses to Villanova and Duke.

Next came Wardwell.

He had always worked to earn this chance. From backyard passing with his father to countless nights in the Sportsplex at Halfmoon to the field at Shenendehowa High School, Wardwell had always hoped to start at Syracuse.

“It was just me kind of having to work and battle back into a spot where I could compete for playing time,” Wardwell said. “I just think as the season went on, it became time for me to take the redshirt off and it was time for me to play.”

In that game against Princeton, Wardwell made nine saves, but allowed nine, too. He started slowly, letting in five in the first half. He let in four in the second half, enough to hold the lead for Syracuse in a tight win.

Wardwell improved as the season wore on. In the Big East tournament, he allowed only 10 goals in two games. The season ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament with a 12-9 loss to Duke. Wardwell made 10 saves, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Now he’s back as a sophomore, more confident and more prepared. He knows he’ll be Syracuse’s starter. He knows how to quell any jitters.

The goaltender rotation stops at Wardwell.

Said Wardwell: “It’ll be easier this year, knowing what to expect coming into games and being able to calm myself down.”

Published on February 14, 2013 at 3:26 am

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman