John Desko knew it was time for a change. His No. 2 Syracuse lacrosse team hadn’t scored in more than 12 minutes of play at home against Hobart. Fans were getting louder. Shots weren’t finding the net.

So the SU head coach switched his offensive sets – from its usual drive-to-the-net style to a more active, passing offense – hoping it would create more open looks for the No. 2 Orange (6-1).

It worked.

As Desko changed the gears, the Orange scored nine unanswered goals in the first half to propel Syracuse to a 13-4 win over No. 19 Hobart (5-2) Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome in front of 4,091 in attendance.

‘They made us work offensively,’ Desko said. ‘We got them used to one thing offensively and then we changed it and it helped our cause and made some opportunities more in the second quarter.’

The low-scoring first quarter resembled the typical play of the Orange throughout this season, as it has gotten off to slow starts in almost every game. But against the No. 2 goalie in the nation, Syracuse had to find new ways to score.

‘Anytime you switch an offensive set it’s just something else to for the defense to worry about,’ attack Kenny Nims said. ‘We just try to confuse them as much as possible, and you know when we got as many guys on our team who are capable of scoring it’s going to work out.’

The Orange had the task of facing Hobart’s Max Silberlicht. He entered the game second in the nation in goals against with 5.33 and total goals allowed (32). Silberlicht made 15 saves off the 49 shots Syracuse took Tuesday, but his efforts weren’t enough to shut down the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation.

‘Some of the guys really shot well at some of the areas in the goal where he (Silberlicht) was susceptible,’ Desko said. ‘He doesn’t give you a lot to shoot out there.’

After Desko’s changes, Syracuse clicked and scored nine consecutive goals in an 11-minute span. The Statesmen’s defense forced Syracuse to pass and slow things down from its normal up-tempo style.

But forced passing backfired for Hobart. All but two of Syracuse’s goals were assisted. The usual feeders of Nims, Dan Hardy and Matt Abbott continued to look for open looks so Steven Keogh and Pat Perritt could finish the play.

The attack duo of Keogh and Nims led the way for the Orange. Keogh scored four goals while Nims registered two goals and four assists.

‘Every week we go over a couple different game plans if Steve is getting cut off,’ Nims said. ‘Teams are never able to shut him off for long. Eventually they’ll break down and we’re going to find him. Nine times out of 10 he’s going to burry it.’

Nims, the leading point scorer for the Orange, remained patient throughout SU’s scoring drought. He continued to dodge, run from behind the goal, and shake defenders. Eventually he found his cousin, Greg Niewieroski, to score the first goal of the game 3:14 in. From there, Syracuse never looked back.

‘We were shooting the ball well,’ Nims said. ‘We were waiting for the right opportunities, and we knew eventually they would come.’

Once the scoring opportunities became visible, seven other Syracuse players joined the scoring party.

At 7:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, Nims caught a bad shot from a teammate while standing within a foot of the left goal post. He chucked the ball into the back of the net, scoring the final SU goal of the game. Silberlicht couldn’t recover and save a goal that came just too easy for Nims.

Nims shrugged as the Statesmen defense had no answer, and the Hobart offense had no rebuttal.

And the Kraus-Simmons Trophy remained in Syracuse for another year, with the Orange leading the series 68-25-2.

‘Every time we put six people out there, they can all put it in the back of the net,’ Desko said. ‘I’m sure we are a little more difficult to prepare for than some teams.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on March 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm