It seems like the most unenviable situation to be in possible. An entire first midfield line, made of three All-Americans, is gone and needs to be replaced.

And coming into the start of the season, losing that type of veteran leadership invaded the minds of Syracuse’s returning midfielders, who are charged with the task of filling some of the biggest shoes in college lacrosse.

‘That was the probably the biggest concern this year, was who’s going to step up and lead,’ midfielder Steve Ianzito said. ‘But as the year goes on, people are going to surprise other people. People are going to step up. It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or a freshman, someone’s going to step up.’

There are plenty of possible prospects to do so, and although it’s less than two weeks into practices, the Orange’s midfield lines may actually be in a better position offensively than they were last season. While Syracuse’s first midfield line started the 2011 season without a hitch — a product of having already played three seasons together — SU’s second and third lines struggled mightily. The communication among the midfielders was off, and moving players from one line to another created chemistry issues on the field.

This year, those problems are mostly in the past. With the makeup of the midfield lines becoming clearer by the day, the chemistry among them is strengthening with each drill and scrimmage.

Suddenly, the idea of having to replace such a marquee line becomes a bit less daunting.

‘Coming into the season, we just know that we have a lot of talent on the midfield line,’ Ianzito said. ‘First, second, third line, a lot of people are going to get playing time. We don’t have to lean on one midfield line like we did last year, which is nice. We have a lot of depth this year.’

Last season’s first line of Jovan Miller, Josh Amidon and Jeremy Thompson produced a total of 48 goals and 35 assists. Along with Syracuse’s formidable attack, the line was often a scoring machine. When those three came off the field, though, their replacements’ inability to jell early on was evident.

JoJo Marasco, Hakeem Lecky and Bobby Eilers are shaping up to be the first line right now, while Scott Loy, Henry Schoonmaker and Ianzito are working together at practices on the second line.

It took until the third game of the season against Virginia for the second line to produce a goal. Ianzito had buried one in the first quarter in the 12-10 win for the Orange.

Syracuse still had a significant drop offensively with the second line on the field until midway through the season. This year, it likely won’t take a few games before SU’s midfielders know where their line mates are at any moment.

‘I think right now, me, (Schoonmaker) and (Ianzito) being on the second line, we’re forming that chemistry that I’m not going to say the second line had last year, but it seemed like it took a little bit longer for them,’ Loy said. ‘I feel like since we’ve been running a lot together and the coaches have us playing in every drill, we’re forming that chemistry early.’

Loy said the only way for the Orange’s midfielders to continue to build on that chemistry is through repetitions on the field. Every practice, every drill and every scrimmage gives them time to do so.

In practice, head coach John Desko has been emphasizing ball movement as the main element to Syracuse’s offense, Loy said, creating a need for strong communication.

So far, Desko said, so good.

‘I think it’s been a focus, that we’ve figured out who we want to give those opportunities to early on, and we’ve been doing that,’ Desko said. ‘I think they’ve been jelling pretty well. I think we’re going to continue to do that, and hopefully it’s going to pay off and we’re going to see that in the scrimmages, and we’ll take that forward going into the games.’

Desko also said that not moving players from line to line will help maintain continuity. In the end, Desko and the Orange are trying to replace arguably one of the most successful midfield lines in college lacrosse history. In doing so, removing any kinks as early as possible becomes key.

If last year’s second line can hit the ground running as soon as the games get underway, that departed first line might not be missed as much as it would’ve appeared.

‘I think now that the season’s officially started, it seems like we’re starting to jell better together,’ Loy said. ‘The midfield line and the attack are starting to form chemistry, and I think that’s only going to get better as the season goes on.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on January 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman