Matt Pratt flaunted Syracuse’s midfield depth against Virginia on Friday night.

Ripping a shot through the UVA defense and into the lower left corner of Dan Marino’s net, Pratt’s fourth-quarter goal capped a 4-0 run that busted open the Cavaliers’ momentum-draining zone defense.

That midfield depth has been a constant so far this season, and the No. 10 Orange (2-1) is counting on it once more as it prepares to face St. John’s (3-1) on Saturday at noon in the Whitman’s Sampler Independence Classic in Chester, Pa. Syracuse will look for continued production from both its first and second units – a core of six players that has scored 14 goals and attempted 36 shots on goal – in its Big East opener.

JoJo Marasco, Luke Cometti and Scott Loy comprise the first midfield unit, while Henry Schoonmaker, Ryan Barber and Hakeem Lecky make up the second.

“I think we’re really happy with the first group as far as the execution,” head coach John Desko said. “The second group is starting to pick up, too. They’re doing pretty good as far as the execution on offense.”

All six players are capable goal-scorers, and present match-up nightmares for opposing defenses. Marasco leads the first unit with five goals and six assists, while Cometti has four goals and Loy has two. Loy and Cometti are both taller than 6 feet, 2 inches, making them tough to contain.

In addition to six legitimate offensive threats, the midfield also has faceoff specialist Chris Daddio, who’s won 53 percent of faceoffs this year – up from 49 percent last year and 50 percent in 2011.

Syracuse had a strong offensive showing against Albany and a tremendous defensive performance against Army. In both games, though, the team struggled to put a complete package together.

But Friday night against the Cavaliers, both the offense and defense clicked for the first time. Much of the team’s production stemmed from the midfield, where Marasco netted two goals, Cometti converted one and Loy added an assist.

Schoonmaker, who anchors the second unit, said the fact that everyone on the midfield is easygoing and has a laidback mentality helps the unit mesh.

“We’ve just been jelling with the offense,” Schoonmaker said. “I think everybody’s easy to talk to and confront. There’s not a lot of big personalities or anything.”

He also said one of the midfield’s best attributes is the players’ ability to convert defense into offense. In the third quarter against UVA, long-stick midfielder Matt Harris came away with the ball, jetted the other way by himself and scored.

“I think a lot of our middies can do that,” Schoonmaker said. “I’ve always liked to go from defense to offense. That’s one of my favorite things to get that transition. When I’m on defense, I just kind of think about the next chance on offense. It’s a little motivation.”

The offensive transition may be easier this week as St. John’s figures to avoid the zone, Desko said. He expects a variety of alignments, like what SU saw against Virginia in the first half. He said he’s seen mostly man-to-man with some early sliding and some slow-to-go when watching the Red Storm on tape.

Whatever defense it’s met with, though, the Syracuse midfield will make adjustments and improve, as it’s done all season.

“I think we’re just getting used to playing with each other a little more,” Barber said. “Three weeks makes a whole lot of a difference.”

Published on March 7, 2013 at 1:38 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass