Feet planted 10 yards away from her target, Nicole Levy waited to hear Emily Hawryschuk’s voice.

Syracuse had a fast-break late in the first period against Connecticut on Feb. 9. Levy caught the ball and noticed the goalie shift toward her. She barely could make out the ‘51’ on Hawryschuk’s jersey, but knew that if the goalie was repositioning, then every defender was moving, too.

Levy coiled as if she were about to shoot, then swung the ball behind her back, no look, to Hawryschuk. The sophomore attack finished after a pump fake and the Carrier Dome crowd gasped.

“I knew that it would increase my angle if I threw it behind my back,” Levy said. “… As soon as I heard her voice I was able to know that her girl was sliding. She’d be open if I just threw it to space.”

The highlight — which has been viewed over 7,000 times on Twitter — is commonplace for Levy. Stick tricks have been rooted in Levy’s arsenal since she started playing lacrosse in third grade and have been displayed through SU’s first 10 games. They’ve become a natural extension of her game ever since her father, Steve, started coaching her and enforced a mandate she still competes by: Just make the play, no matter what.

Levy leads the Orange in points (34), shots (52) and is second in goals (27). The junior has carved out her role as Syracuse’s premier playmaker on an offense searching for creativity. SU averaged 19 goals per game as of two weeks ago, but in its last two games, both losses, it’s scored 20 total. To end its current skid and earn its first conference win, No. 12 SU (6-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) will need Levy to extend her hot-streak against No. 20 Duke (6-4, 1-2) on March 31 in Durham, North Carolina.

“She’s a very innovative player,” redshirt senior Taylor Gait said. “She’s always trying to raise the game. Levy is so good. She can do (tricks) in a game and constantly do it and be accurate.”

Completing some yard work while Levy was in third grade, Steve learned his daughter was a quick learner. He would demonstrate a stick trick to Levy and return to work. A few minutes later, Levy mastered the technique and Steve would have to take another break to show his daughter something new.

Steve preached to his daughter the difference between scoring and shooting angles. In practices as a child, Levy walked the field with a goalie in net and observed the netminder’s placement. She analyzed the openings and soon realized a well-timed behind-the-back shot opened up the backside of her target.

“You show her something once,” Steve said, “give her a few reps and it becomes part of her repertoire. … There’s a right time and a wrong time to do it. You’re not doing it for flash, you’re doing it to increase your scoring angle.”

One opportunity to showcase her skills was in her eighth-grade year, Levy’s first on the varsity team. Just inside the 8-meter during an early-season game, she scored off a behind-the-back shot. Teammates looked at each other, mouths open and shocked. An excited Levy marched the sideline and screamed.

“Did you see that?” Steve remembered Levy saying.

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In Levy’s freshman season at SU, two upperclassman dodgers, including Kayla Treanor, relegated Levy to the perimeter. She quickly developed an outside shot and was set to take over last season before a lower-body injury derailed her. Now, she’s demonstrating what the offense missed a year ago and is taking the role that others left for her.

“It kind of went from Kayla Treanor doing cool things to then Levy doing cool things,” Gait said.

Before the Orange’s opener against the Huskies, Levy, Hawryschuk and senior Alie Jimerson competed for two starting spots. Gary Gait told them that they would be rotated in throughout the year, but one would have to start the first game on the bench. They were going to flip a coin to decide, but Levy volunteered.

By the team’s fifth contest, she was inserted into the starting lineup and hasn’t left since.

Steve still gives Levy advice, sending her videos of men lacrosse stars like Lyle Thompson. He’s still waiting to see his daughter break out a question mark dodge — a technique where an attack drives the net from behind the crease and fakes out a defender — in a game. Steve knows his daughter won’t force it. She will wait for the right time to shock a crowd.

In the second half of SU’s game against UConn, Levy received a pass and ripped it behind her back in one motion. The ball whizzed into the back side of the net and froze the Connecticut goaltender.

Levy flung her stick to the turf and jutted out her arms as if to ask, “Did you see that?”

Published on March 28, 2018 at 8:56 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez