Nearly every game the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team played last season was decided in the fourth quarter or overtime. In its final two games – the regular season finale and the first-round playoff game, both against Massachusetts – the Orange frantically recovered from large second-half deficits to tie the Minutemen late in the fourth quarter.

And like most of its other close contests during that season, SU ran out of gas both times vs. UMass because it fielded only one attack line and one offensive midfield line in 2005. The Minutemen won both games with a late goal, the second of which ended the Orange’s 22-year record of consecutive Final Fours.

Fortunately for Syracuse, nobody will have to play all 60 minutes in 2006.

Syracuse will field its deepest offensive team in years next season. SU head coach John Desko said the Orange will rotate five attackers and two full midfield teams. Syracuse’s depth and new up-tempo offense were on display Sunday in the Pumpkin Stick-Out at Coyne Field, where SU defeated LeMoyne, 6-5, Cortland, 11-6 and Herkimer, 13-3, in exhibition contests.

‘As the season went on, we lost a lot in the fourth quarter,’ senior attack Brett Bucktooth said. ‘We didn’t have the legs when we needed them. Now, with our depth, we can run full steam the whole game and wear down the defense.’

The sudden depth is a result of three heralded freshmen – Dan Hardy, Kenny Nims and Patrick Perritt – and Virginia transfer Joe Yevoli, the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year who did not play in 2005 due a back injury. Desko said all four impressed during fall ball, which culminated with the Stick-Out, and will be part of the planned 11-man rotation. The one player Desko singled out Sunday was another Cavalier transfer, Nathan Kenney, who will play offensive or defensive midfield.

The new faces create a surplus of scoring threats for SU. The Orange returns most of its offensive starters from last season, including leading scorer Brian Crockett and two who started as freshmen – Mike Leveille and Greg Niewieroski.

‘All the young guys are full of energy and have a really good work ethic,’ Bucktooth said. ‘They will give us more legs and let us run full steam. Coach (Desko) has a philosophy where he is giving us quicker shifts now.’

Desko shuffled the lineup during all three games Sunday, gauging different attack and midfield combinations as nearly everyone on the roster played. He was not ready to name his starters or members of the offensive rotation.

Though the offense looked crisp Sunday, it was hard to judge its effectiveness, considering the weaker competition. But SU’s new offensive style, a higher-paced, fast-break attack playable only with depth, was evident.

Senior attack Timothy Raschdorf led SU with six goals and an assist Sunday. Nims, Niewieroski and senior midfielder Greg Rommel, also a returning starter, each scored three goals on the day.

‘Last year, it was certainly more important for us to control the ball and hope for good shots,’ Desko said. ‘Now we can pick up the tempo a little bit using different midfield lines and put more pressure on the defense.’

Desko hopes SU’s depth and freshness will translate into a better record in close games in 2006. Syracuse was 4-5 in games decided by two goals or less last year. SU lost both overtime games it played, including the regular season finale at UMass. That outcome allowed the first-round playoff game to take place at hostile Garber Field instead of the Carrier Dome.

‘It’s really exciting that we have that much depth,’ Niewieroski said. ‘That will give us a lot more energy and enable us to play at a higher speed. That and we’ll all have a chip on our shoulder from what happened at the end of last season.’

Published on October 16, 2005 at 12:00 pm