Liz Hogan spent most of Sunday waiting, pacing her steps along the backfield and staring at the action at the opposite end.

Was she bored?

‘I wouldn’t say bored,’ Syracuse women’s lacrosse goalkeeper said. ‘But it’s very easy to lose focus if you’re not constantly in it mentally. So it’s a challenge.’

Against Division-II Le Moyne, boredom posed more of a challenge than the Dolphin attack. Syracuse jumped out to a five-goal lead before the Dolphins scored, en route to a 21-4 blowout Sunday at the Carrier Dome. Le Moyne took 13 shots during the 60-minute game.

So five and a half weeks since practice began this season, SU’s defense hasn’t received a chance to test its reliability. Nine months after the end of last season, Syracuse understands as much now as it did then – that it has a powerful attack and a defense that requires improvement.

And head coach Gary Gait could concur.

After a glance at the scoreboard, Gait didn’t need to see who scored.

‘I don’t want to see the stat sheet,’ Gait said. ‘It was expected that we would put the ball in the net.’

But defense – sure Le Moyne’s offense was patient when in possession, but how could a coach review a defense that wasn’t put under pressure?

Disregard the fact that Dolphin attack could rarely get past the Orange’s 50-yard line. That when it came down to the final minutes of the opening half, the trailing Dolphins couldn’t manage a shot with 1:35 of possession in its opponent’s arc. Syracuse’s offense made the most of 16 turnovers and cashed them in goals.

‘Once we figured out (Le Moyne’s) tendencies, we played a lot better defense,’ midfielder Christina Dove said.

At times, the only thing preventing SU from a score was the shooter’s own ability to aim within the crossbars. Twice, attack Halley Quillinan shot just wide of net. So Hogan and her defense waited.

When the opportunity first came six minutes in, Le Moyne’s 2-on-1 advantage into the crease dissolved with an overhead pass too high for an open McKenzie Gray. The counter, a minute later, would add to SU’s lead, 5-0.

And Gait recalled that what the Orange defense could improve was basic. Go for body, not ball.

That same forgotten philosophy led to Le Moyne’s first goal, when Michelle Phillips circled the net dodging Orange players who swung sticks instead of halting her movement. So Phillips tucked and streaked back to the front of the net to hit the high right corner of Hogan’s cage.

‘(Le Moyne) scored two goals that way,’ Gait said. ‘They were simple mistakes and they cost you.’

But those are natural habits. Unforced errors caused by a bit of nerve, Gait said. Like the other pair of goals which came at the fault of penalties – a pair of free possessions that tested Hogan in net. Hogan came out with four saves on seven shots.

What Gait expected: ‘Our stellar defense would just sit back and don’t make mistakes.’

And what he got was a ‘good effort,’ Gait said.

‘A start.’

edpaik@syr.edu

Published on February 15, 2009 at 12:00 pm