The doctor was sure about one thing: Sol Bliss had torn the ACL in his left knee, and he’d need reconstructive surgery to fix it.

Something else puzzled the doctor, though.

“I don’t know how you walked on it,” he said to Bliss.

Actually, Bliss played an entire game on it, one that culminated with him jogging — gingerly at best — around Rutgers Stadium celebrating a national championship.

Five hours of surgery on June 21 and five months of rehabilitation later, Bliss proclaimed himself in fine fettle when the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team held its first practice of the season yesterday at the Carrier Dome.

“(The doctor) told me I’d be out for a year,” Bliss said. “I said, ‘What are you talking about? I played a whole game.’ “

Well, too. He shadowed Princeton forward B.J. Prager, who scored only one goal. The Orangemen beat the Tigers, 13-12, for their eighth national championship.

Bliss had injured the knee two days earlier against Virginia. He missed almost the entire second half, and afterward, coaches feared Bliss might not be ready for the Tigers.

“But I just thought, ‘Something like this is not going to stop me from winning the championship game,’ “ Bliss said. “I just sucked it up and went out there.”

Then, he went under the knife to repair the ripped ligament. Only a month later, trainers told SU head coach John Desko that Bliss’ timetable had moved up. His strict regimen of running, weightlifting, balancing and sprinting drills was not only helping repair his knee but also improving his conditioning.

“I worked a lot harder this off-season than any other off-season,” Bliss said. “It was more I had to do it than wanting to do it. If I didn’t want to get up for rehab, then I’d be set back more. In past off-seasons, if I didn’t want to get up to run, it wouldn’t hurt me that much.”

Bliss will have to continue adjusting to a gigantic black brace on his left knee. Though he’s worked out with the device — which resembles a bear trap — for almost three months, it limits his flexibility.

Syracuse needs Bliss as close to full strength as possible, considering it lost All-American starting defensemen Billy St. George and John Glatzel to graduation.

Welcome back

Asked for his thoughts on this year’s freshmen, Mike Powell chuckled.

“I actually don’t know any of the freshmen,” Powell confessed.

Seems a silly reporter forgot Powell spent his fall taking classes outside SU to boost his grade-point average and regain his eligibility.

He did. Yesterday, Powell reunited with Liam Banks, who sat out last season for personal reasons.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been excited for practice,” Powell said. “I’m going to try and show the younger guys just how hard I work. Hopefully, it’ll make them better.”

“I’m real pumped,” Banks said. “We’ve got everybody back, everybody ready to play. It’s a great feeling going into the first practice.”

Powell was reinstated by the College of Human Services and Health Professions last week after being kicked out during the summer for failing to maintain a 2.0 GPA.

He won the 2002 Tewaaraton Trophy as the best player in college lacrosse and had four goals and three assists in the national championship game. To no one’s surprise, Powell, who has led SU in scoring each of the past two seasons, was named NCAA Tournament MVP.

Banks has a tournament MVP award of his own, from the 2000 season, which he finished with 39 goals and 27 assists.

“Anytime you get a Tewaaraton winner and a first-team All-American, plus a championship MVP and another All-American back, you feel a little better about things,” Desko said. “The guys had good semesters in the fall academically. They seem to be very focused.

“To be honest with you, we expected them back. They all knew what was on the line. Any time you have competitors like these guys, if it comes down to playing and not playing, they’re going to do whatever it takes to play.“

This and that

Defense may be the key for Syracuse this season, but Desko said the Orangemen aren’t defending anything. “We don’t have to defend the 2002 national championship,” Desko said. “It’s already ours. We’re going after the 2003 national championship. We’re not up there at the top of the hill trying to protect the national championship. We’re at the bottom of the hill trying to get up to the top and go after that trophy.” … Syracuse is ranked No. 1 in the 2003 Inside Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Princeton is No. 2. … Powell, Banks, Bliss, Mike Springer and Steve Vallone earned preseason All-America honors.

Published on January 15, 2003 at 12:00 pm