Bobby Wardwell clutched his stick tightly to his body and looked down as he paced around the crease. Chad Tutton, standing just feet away, was getting mobbed by his teammates after whipping a side-arm shot that Wardwell wasn’t quick enough to stop.

It was the 10th and final goal of the first half for North Carolina in its 17-15 win over Syracuse on April 11. And it was the final straw for Wardwell in what was his most disappointing performance this season.

“I didn’t have the best day,” Wardwell said.

Wardwell watched on the bench as Warren Hill saw his first significant playing time of the season in the second half. But since that game, SU head coach John Desko has stood by his senior goalkeeper. And with another matchup against No. 2 UNC (12-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) awaiting No. 4 Syracuse (9-2, 2-2) in the semifinals of the ACC tournament on Friday at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, Wardwell has looked to correct what ailed him just 13 days prior.

He’s been working closely with undergraduate assistant and goalies coach Dominic Lamolinara to help solidify what has been largely a successful season for Wardwell.

“He’s been our guy all year,” Lamolinara said. “I don’t think one bad half can change that. He knows how he performed and he knows he can bounce back from that. Everybody has a bad day.”

Lamolinara said Wardwell’s downfall was a lack of communication. The Tar Heels got around a lot of picks fairly easily, which Lamolinara said shouldn’t happen. It was something they had practiced, but didn’t execute. He said it comes down to Wardwell keeping his defense in the loop.

He said in practice, they’ve been working on two-on-two picks and one-on-one picks from behind to help combat the top attack in the conference.

“(It’s) knowing their personnel,” Wardwell said. “Knowing who we need to slide to, who we don’t need to slide to, all that silly stuff. Parts of team defense.”

Desko said it’s also important to get Wardwell back out in goal to help with clears, something that Hill struggled with on multiple occasions in his previous outing.

His weaknesses were improved in holding rival Hobart scoreless for the first 37 minutes of its game on April 14. But UNC, sandwiching that game with Hobart, provides a different challenge.

And even though Hill spelled the damage the first time around, Desko hopes to not have to go down that route again.

“It’s really nice to know that he has the confidence in me,” Wardwell said. “Everybody has a bad game, you just get back in there and keep playing.”

But even if the hope is that something will change in the nearly two-week separation in games, Wardwell knows the competition will not.

There still is Joey Sankey, the all-time leading scorer in UNC history. There still is Luke Goldstock who has connected on eight goals in the past two games. And there still is Jimmy Bitter, who, despite the prowess of the previous two, leads the team with 69 points.

There’s still a steep challenge, but Wardwell is working to be up to the task.

“I think he’s learned from it,” Desko said. “He’s seen their tendencies from individual players. He’s had another week to get ready for that. He’s anxious to get out there against this team in a game situation.”

Published on April 22, 2015 at 9:41 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3