One of the many practice drills Syracuse men’s lacrosse head coach John Desko uses involves working on groundballs. Nothing fancy, just a brief exercise that may help his team win a few more 50-50 situations.

But it wasn’t that easy last season. Desko decided a healthy team was more important than one or two more possessions per game. So he resisted on drills like the one involving groundballs because of the possibility of injuries.

Only 10 days into official practices this season, Desko has already reached into his bag of tricks with a variety of physical drills. He can take that approach this season because the largest difference in the 2006 team – officially revealed at Media Day on Saturday – compared to the 2005 team is depth, particularly on offense.

The sudden depth comes from the addition of three freshmen – Dan Hardy, Kenny Nims and Patrick Perritt – and senior transfer Joe Yevoli from Virginia, the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year who sat out 2005 with a back injury.

Those four join a talented group of returning threats. Six of the top seven scoring leaders from last season’s team return – Brian Crockett, Mike Leveille, Brett Bucktooth, Steven Brooks, Greg Rommel and Greg Niewieroski. As a result, practices have mimicked game situations more and more.

‘We were worried about injury in practices,’ Desko said. ‘We would sometimes have to design our practices (like) ‘Here we are two or three days before a game, do we really want to go out and be very physical today?’ Because if we lose one player, especially with all these one-goal games, you’re thinking about that.

‘This year you approach practice differently – you go out and you’re really hungry, you’re very aggressive, there’s a lot of competitiveness, a lot more checking, groundballs, physicalness and with the depth, we aren’t worried about that injury.’

Desko said it was too early to determine who would play in what positions, and Yevoli said the team has used different lineups every day in practice.

The Orange plans to use a faster-pace offense this season because Desko doesn’t have to rely on the same six players the whole game. While it may appear the team has many interchangeable parts, Desko said he will eventually pair players into three different groups – attackers, middies or ones that can play both.

‘Everybody is trying to practice as hard as they can,’ Yevoli said. ‘We’ve got so many people, especially on offense, that everybody is just trying to establish themselves and figure out what spot and what role they are going to play.’

The experience of the returning scorers and increased depth should prevent the tired legs at the end of games that plagued Syracuse last season. The team finished 4-5 in games decided by two goals or less. The Orange lost its last two games, including the first-round playoff game, by one goal to Massachusetts.

‘When you’ve been in a lot of those games, you know how to react to that situation and we’ll be fresher at the end of the game,’ Desko said. ‘We want to be a better team at the end of the year getting ready for the playoffs.’

Open auditions

Desko tried to make it seem as though depth applied to the goalie position as well, but not quite. While for the first time in years Syracuse heads into a season with more than one option for a backstopper, it really means a question mark exists.

Gone is four-year starter Jay Pfeifer, who won two national championships (2002, 2004), played more than 3,000 minutes and saved 725 shots in his career. The goalies on this year’s roster have played five minutes and saved one shot.

Those numbers are all courtesy of sophomore Jake Myers, who is battling for the open position with redshirt freshman Peter Coluccini and sophomore Casey Rotella. Besides the revamped offense, the starting goalie position is the most noticeable difference. Desko said he would not make a decision on a starter until the season nears and he’s seen more practices.

Desko said Coluccini and Myers bring different strengths to the table. The coach said Coluccini stands taller in the net and cuts down angles of opposing shooters well. The quickness in his hands for a more physical goalie also impressed Desko. But the coach said Coluccini was disappointed with his play in fall ball.

‘There were times in the fall where he was a little frustrated with things, as far as the saves go,’ Desko said. ‘But I’ll tell you what: He’s made some very good saves this spring.’

As for Myers, Desko said the sophomore plays more like Pfeifer in that he is more active outside of the cage and clears the ball well, the area where Desko said Coluccini needs improvement.

But neither goalie is letting the competition affect them.

‘We’re not really worried about who’s starting yet,’ Myers said. ‘I think we’re worried about getting better as goalies and helping out the defense for the games. The spot is open, but I don’t think we’re too worried about that right now. We’re both excited to play. Whoever starts, start. Whoever doesn’t, doesn’t.’

Gain footing

Football isn’t the only sport to be affected by the Carrier Dome’s FieldTurf that was installed in the fall. In fact, lacrosse may be affected more by the change. Besides noting the probable reduction in injuries, Desko said the softer FieldTurf offers lower bounces of the ball than AstroTurf.

‘I think initially we might have spent a week or two in the fall adjusting to it, especially the goaltenders – the ball tends to stay lower on this so you get bounce shots,’ Desko said. ‘They are used to seeing the ball bounce up a little higher and all of sudden it’s staying down. They made a very quick adjustment to it. It’s very good to run on, good for injuries, any Syracuse team – whether it’s FieldTurf or AstroTurf, just to have that consistency.’

Assistant copy editor Mark Medina contributed to this story.

Published on January 29, 2006 at 12:00 pm