The Syracuse attack doesn’t pay much attention to double teams. It can’t — mostly because there are so many. But also because it’s not its nature to.

Dylan Donahue often drew two while tearing through the early part of the Orange’s schedule. Randy Staats’ midseason surge moved the defensive focus onto him. Kevin Rice’s merciless operation from behind the cage has demanded as many as three defenders on multiple occasions.

It’s been a revolving door — one attack draws extra attention until another gets hot. Until it shifts. Then shifts again.

“We move the ball around and different guys get chances,” Donahue said. “I feel like I’m really benefiting from the way we’re playing right now.”

As second-seeded Syracuse (11-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) starts its NCAA tournament run against Bryant (15-4, 5-1 Northeast) at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome on Sunday, Donahue’s off-ball instincts could allow him to further capitalize on his teammates’ success.

The Bulldogs have the best faceoff specialist in the country in Kevin Massa and tend to take long possessions. The Orange will need to capitalize on its scoring opportunities, and Donahue, whose 55.4 shooting percentage is second in the nation by a fraction of a percent, is the perfect fit for the matchup.

Donahue also leads Syracuse in scoring with 36 goals. Rice and Staats are close behind with 33 and 32, respectively.

“(Rice) and (Staats) have been great this year, and that’s going to continue going into the tournament,” Donahue said. “It definitely helps when those guys are going well and I’ll be ready.”

It’s hard to play a secondary role in Syracuse’s balanced offense.

Aside from the starting attack, the Orange’s two-line midfield rotation features six different players — most notably Derek Maltz, Hakeem Lecky, Billy Ward and Nicky Galasso — that can score at any time. When the second line is on the field, the team plays like it has six attacks on the field.

Maltz, Ward and Galasso are all former attacks and every game has the potential to turn out a different go-to option.

“We like to move the ball and it can end up with anyone,” said Maltz, who moved from attack to the second-line midfield earlier in the season. “I don’t think (Donahue) necessarily flies under the radar because of that. If he is, then our offense is just something else.

“But he does such a good job of finding the right spot and getting the best shot.”

That was no more apparent in Syracuse’s 16-15 win over Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tournament on April 25.

A game prior, Staats and Rice lit up Hobart for nine combined goals and had a hand in 11 of the Orange’s 14. So with the game tied and 15 seconds to go, the Blue Devils’ aptly keyed on the pair.

Staats cradled at the top of the zone and drew the defense’s attention. Then he found Rice in the middle of the field before the Duke defense shifted to obstruct Rice’s path to the goal.

Donahue just took what the defense gave him off the ball, dashing to the right doorstep before quick-sticking a Rice pass into the back of the net with less than a second on the clock – his fourth of the contest and the game-winner.

“If you think about it, no one else on our team makes that kind of play,” Rice said.

The NCAA tournament is familiar territory for Donahue. Last year, he was named to the NCAA all-tournament team after collecting 13 points — eight goals and five assists — in four games.

Syracuse’s last NCAA tournament started with a 12-7 win over Bryant. If the Bulldogs are to avenge that loss, they have to limit the production of Rice, then Staats, then Donahue.

If that’s how Bryant categorizes the Orange attack, Donahue’s sharp shooting could head the charge.

“We always say we like double teams because they are good for the offense,” Donahue said. “Bad for the guy with the ball, and great for everybody off it.”

Published on May 9, 2014 at 2:52 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse