Standing alone in the crease, John Galloway watched the painful scene unfolding in front of him. The ball that ended Syracuse’s season seconds earlier rested on the grass behind him in the net, and Maryland stormed the turf and formed a celebratory dog pile at midfield.

While his teammates walked slowly and dejectedly off the Gillette Stadium field, Galloway stood and watched the Terrapins celebrate the win the Orange wanted so badly. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight, coming one year after Army pulled off a NCAA tournament upset in the Carrier Dome and put the dagger through the heart of SU’s season.

Unlike that loss, though, Galloway wasn’t going to have the opportunity to avenge it. His time with SU was finished, and the program rested with his successor, Matt Lerman. And Galloway wanted to make sure Lerman understood the challenge ahead of him.

‘At the end of the year last year when everything kind of ended abruptly and we didn’t really know what to do, Matt and I spoke and I just told him the keys are in his hands now,’ Galloway said. ‘He’s just very excited to have a chance. His chance.’

His chance to help restore the Orange to greatness.When Syracuse’s 2011 season came to a crushing end in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals in a 6-5 overtime loss to Maryland, Galloway walked off the field as the most successful goalie in college lacrosse history with 59 wins and two championships under his belt. With his departure, the stability that Syracuse had between the pipes was gone, too. Galloway is now 629 miles south of Syracuse as a volunteer assistant coach with Duke. Trying to replace him is no easy task, and at the start of the 2012 season, the Orange had seven goaltenders vying for the spot.

Before one of the Orange’s practices early in the spring season, Lerman stood near the sideline and looked around the field. At every spot on the Carrier Dome turf, there seemed to be a goaltender warming up.

And Lerman said he wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

‘It’s a huge competition, but I think it’s really good for me and everyone else. It’s been really good for me to come in and feel the competition and have to really earn it,’ Lerman said. ‘… For me, I always felt like it was mine to earn, and everyone else’s to earn, and I just have to out-earn everyone.

Besides Lerman, there’s sophomore Ben Levy and senior Paul Dubas, who have played in a combined four games in their careers. There’s Dominic Lamolinara, a transfer from Maryland, and then there are three raw freshmen who aren’t likely to see much time in the net this season.

At SU’s annual media day in January, Desko said the seven would be pared down to three or four, with the candidates the coaches know the best likely advancing to the next round of the competition. The process would then continue until a starter is named. But in the backdrop of Desko’s assurance that it was an open competition, Lerman remained the clear front-runner. As Desko put it, Lerman had the nod.

‘He’s a very good save in the goal. He did that, showed us that last year,’ Desko said. ‘He got better as the year went on. … We’re happy with where he’s at. Like the other guys, he needs to keep going. But right now, I’d say he’s the front-runner based on his experience.’

With seven goaltenders, they each see significantly fewer repetitions in practice. Desko said that once the coaches trim the group to three or four, the remaining goalies are going to be standing around and watching a bit more.

Until that point, the job is up for grabs. In theory, anyway.

‘It definitely drives me. There are seven goalies on the team, so every rep is important because you don’t get a lot in practice,’ Lamolinara said. ‘We’re just making the most of the reps we get, and we know we’re getting looked at.’

Of the seven, Lerman has the obvious advantage to take over for Galloway. And Galloway said he’s the perfect one to do so.

‘I remember the one thing telling him, ‘Don’t be like John Galloway, be Matt Lerman,”

Galloway said. ‘Matt Lerman is just as good, or even better, than I ever was. I hope he really takes that to heart and does things his way and really makes his own lasting legacy at Syracuse.’

Lerman redshirted in 2010 before becoming Galloway’s primary backup last season. The sophomore played in seven games, allowing five goals and making eight saves in a little more than 35 minutes of action

Through the winter, Lerman spent time trying to get focused on the upcoming season. As the opening of spring practice approached, the idea of becoming the next starting goaltender began to crystallize in his mind.

‘I just focus a lot on trying to clear my head in December, January, leading up to now,’ Lerman said. ‘Sort of, it’s been a long year. … It’s been a lot of hard work and really trying to define what I’m going to be in the net with my own game rather than trying to follow someone else.’

Through his two seasons with the Orange, Lerman has been known for his tireless work ethic. He stays after practice to take additional shots. He puts in extra time in the weight room, continuing to lift when most of his teammates have already left.

The way Galloway controlled a game is what Lerman said he admired most. Lerman called Galloway a ‘lacrosse guru’ who knew as much about every position on the field as he did about goaltending.

But perhaps Galloway’s biggest strength is Lerman’s biggest weakness. Galloway had the ability to forget about a goal he allowed and move on to make the next save. He never dwelled on a failed save and always looked to make the next stop that came his way.

Lerman, on the other hand, is still learning how to let go of his mistakes. Galloway said Lerman is a perfectionist, likely to a fault, but if he can control his emotions in the goal, he’ll be one step closer to attaining greatness for Syracuse.

For now, it’s an ongoing process.

‘He gets angry when he gets scored on. Some goalies are like that more than others,’ said assistant coach Kevin Donahue, who works primarily with the defense and goaltenders. ‘He is a perfectionist. He’s a student of the game. He really gets mad when he gets scored on. … He has to calm down a little bit with that, but that’s kind of my job to help him with that.’

Lerman and his predecessor also differ in their playing styles.

While Galloway was nationally known for his defense in net, he was also a vital part of Syracuse’s offense. Galloway became one of the most consistent and effective clearing goaltenders in the nation, sending long passes downfield to his teammates and putting them in perfect position to score in transition before opposing defenses could get set.

Last season against Providence, Galloway stood close to 22 yards in front of his goal and sent a pass of about 55 yards to long-stick midfielder Joel White, who caught the pass and quickly flipped it into the net for a score, giving Galloway his first career point.

Without Galloway, a major part of SU’s transition offense could take a hit. But Galloway said Lerman won’t take the ‘stupid risks’ he took. Instead, he will be more methodical in clearing the ball, allowing that transition offense to still thrive.

‘I think Matt’s going to be a great clearing goalie in his own right,’ he said. ‘We go about things differently. What people aren’t going to understand is the way I cleared isn’t the only way. Matt’s going to be very consistent. He throws a great outlet.’

Still, Syracuse’s No. 1 guard is changing. Galloway left behind an unparalleled legacy, one that won’t be easily matched, if it’s ever matched at all. Around college lacrosse, though, the Orange still holds the image of being elite, regardless of the drop to No. 7 in the preseason rankings. Galloway’s new boss, Duke head coach John Danowski, said that when talented players leave Syracuse, there are plenty more waiting in the wings.

‘Syracuse reloads. They’re always going to be terrific,’ Danowski said. ‘They have a great tradition, phenomenal coaching staff, the kids loving playing there. They love the Syracuse experience. They’re going to be great.’

Every couple of days, Lerman still calls Galloway for advice. It will be about anything from fundamentals of the game to controlling a defense to keeping emotions in check on the field. The resource Lerman had for two years is still only a phone call away.

But that’s far enough to be in the Orange’s past. Galloway left his legacy, and now it’s Lerman’s turn to do the same.

His chance. His legacy.

‘It’s going to be more making my own way through it,’ Lerman said, ‘rather than replacing John.’

cjiseman@syr.edu 

Published on February 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman