Scott Firman let a few players fly by him as he tried to catch his brain up with the footwork it takes to play close defense. It hit Firman, as he was standing closer to the net by the endline, that he hadn’t done this in a few years.

A three-on-three drill from behind the cage in the beginning of Syracuse’s season took him back to his high school days, when he used to play close defense against attacks.

“It took me by surprise, because I haven’t been down there in a while,” Firman said.

In Firman’s two-plus years at Syracuse, he has played strictly on the wing for faceoffs and as a long-stick midfielder. Formerly the No. 4-ranked defender and No. 17 player overall in the Class of 2013 by Inside Lacrosse, he’s adjusted to the midfield well. Long-stick midfielders typically guard players farther from the net, while close defenders play near it.

Every year, Firman’s role has grown, from mostly a face-off wing specialist in 2014 to being the backup long pole in 2015 to now being the No. 3 Orange’s (3-0) first long pole into the game. While he was used to locking down the other team’s best player in high school, he’s gained more responsibility to his workload. This season, he has nine ground balls, only three less than his freshman year total of 12 and nearly half of last year’s total of 20. He’ll look to add to that total on Friday at 5 p.m. against No. 14 Virginia (2-2) at Klöckner Stadium.

“I’d say its more defensive minded here at Syracuse,” Firman said of playing as a long-stick midfielder. “In high school, it was more of a transition thing.”

The technique, Firman said, is a bit different. Midfielders start in front of the cage and attacks from behind. When an attack gets to the goal line, Firman would swing his foot to keep the attack behind the net, something he doesn’t have to deal with in front of the net.

Against Johns Hopkins in 2014, current SU attack and former Jamesville-DeWitt (New York) High School teammate Jordan Evans recalled Firman making an overhead check on then-senior midfielder Rob Guida with 30 seconds left in the game. The Orange slipped past the Blue Jays, 12-10.

“That was the biggest play I’ve seen him make,” Evans said. “I think it went very underrated that he was the type of player that nobody really knew about and he was making those plays.”

 

Spencer Bodian | Staff Photographer

 

Last season, Firman helped Peter Macartney shut down Duke midfielder Myles Jones, one of the best players in the country. Jones tallied just one assist as Syracuse drubbed the then-No. 4 Blue Devils, 19-7.

Firman was again the key when Syracuse closed out Army on Saturday. Before midfielder Tim Barber’s game-winning goal against Army, faceoff specialist Ben Williams turned his stick over the ball and pinned it to the ground, but couldn’t scoop it up. Firman rushed in, fighting off two Black Knights players for the groundball.

He ran to the offensive end and dished the ball off. Eventually, the ball found Barber on the possession, who scored the game-winning goal.

Later, an errant Army pass hit the ground and Firman rushed through to scoop the ball. He trucked down the field and the Black Knights left him open. In high school, he may have taken the shot Army was giving him. Evans said Firman would pass the ball up early to an attack and cut to get the ball back.

“We’d joke that Scott should be on the man-up on the right side,” Evans said. “He has a pretty hard shot, I don’t know if I’d say it’s accurate.”

But on Sunday, he didn’t wind up and fire. After Barber’s game-winner, Firman just dished the ball to attack Dylan Donahue on his left, who cradled around the offensive end until SU called a timeout.

Army did get a shot to tie the game, but Firman grabbed the groundball and time ran off the clock. It was another big play in a career that, so far, has seen a few of them. And while he’s been steady so far, his role at SU is still growing.

“He’s played really within himself. He’s a very steady player,” SU head coach John Desko said. “… It’s nice to have that consistency, we really feel like we can depend on him to do the right thing.”

Published on March 2, 2016 at 10:50 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati