COLLEGE PARK, Md. – In the span of 40 seconds, Kevin Daugherty perfectly illustrated how the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team plays offense.

With 3:45 left in the first half, Daugherty subbed in. Then the senior attacker got a pass, broke left, fired and scored, putting SU up, 5-2.

Throughout the first half, when most of Syracuse’s first team played, the Orangemen used a fast-paced offense, beating Maryland, 10-8, at Artificial Turf Field in Syracuse’s final scrimmage before the regular season.

The scrimmage used four quarters – unlike the five-quarter game SU played Feb. 14 against Navy – and the score was reset after each quarter.

‘It was good preparation for us,’ Syracuse coach John Desko said. ‘(Maryland) was pretty patient with the ball. The time of possession was clearly in their favor in the first half. But teams are going to play us at that tempo, so we needed this preparation.’

Indeed, Maryland used a snail’s pace to keep the ball early, outshooting Syracuse, 21-11, by halftime. The Terrapins grabbed 21 ground balls compared to 15 for SU and won eight of 10 face-offs by halftime.

Still, Syracuse led, 5-3, at halftime, as most of Maryland’s shots clanked off the stick of SU goalie Jay Pfeifer – who had eight saves in his one half – or beyond the baseline.

When Syracuse won a ground ball or cleared, initiating an attack, the result was usually an immediate score.

‘The way we play offense,’ freshman Steve Panerelli said, ‘is we just go down the field and look for a quick little score. We don’t slow it down at all. There are times when you can play a lot and a lot of defense, and you’ll give up a lot of shots. We don’t play the way Maryland plays, slowing it down every possession. We’re trying to speed the game up.’

Syracuse succeeded, perhaps because it subbed in players almost as quick as its offense bolted downfield. Syracuse rotated players as a way to see as many players as it could in its last scrimmage.

Maryland, too, played more liberally, which led to more quick SU scores. With 14:30 left in the game, UMD goalie Harry Alford, initially trying to clear the ball, scampered through SU’s defense and fired a shot from 20 feet outside the goal box.

When backup goalie Nick Donatelli saved it, he cleared downfield to Brian Crockett, who shot relatively unguarded as two Maryland defenders helplessly tried to block the net.

‘We did a nice job in the goal today,’ Desko said. ‘It led to a few scoring opportunities. And in the second half, we just settled down. We were more patient with the ball offensively.’

That patience led to more opportunities – SU outshot Maryland, 27-19, in the second half – but less production – each team scored five times in the second half.

Senior Michael Powell scored five points on four assists and a goal. Sophomore Brian Crockett had another big game, following up his four-point effort against Army with a three-goal game Saturday.

For SU’s final scrimmage, Desko didn’t want a display of brilliance, anything flashy, a dominating performance or even a win, necessarily. Just a quick glimpse at what he has to work with.

And if Syracuse continues scoring like it did against Maryland, a Final Four team last season, Desko – and Syracuse – should be content.

‘It was a really big test,’ defender Donn Vidosh said. ‘This is a really good team we played. Although we were subbing a lot in, our three starters played really well. Guys who weren’t starting played really well. I thought it was great, great scrimmage. I was pretty happy.’

Published on February 22, 2004 at 12:00 pm