For John Desko, the key to every game is simple. The Syracuse head coach knows the first play of every contest – the faceoff – directly affects his team’s performance on both ends of the field.

And it can often be the difference between winning and losing.

‘The game starts with a faceoff in lacrosse,’ Desko said. ‘There’s still a jump ball after every basket, so the more possessions you can get after a goal, the better off you are.

‘Especially when you’re trying to figure out the other team’s defense and their personnel and what they’re doing, so the best defense many times is a good offense.’

Syracuse entered the season focused on fixing its inept play at the X, but the Orange has shown little improvement through its first four games. Outside of a dominant performance by Chris Daddio against Army three weeks ago, faceoffs remain a glaring weakness for SU. The team has won just 16-of-49 (32.7 percent) draws in its last two games against No. 1 Virginia and St. John’s.

That number will need to improve if No. 6 Syracuse (3-1, 1-0 Big East) wants to upset No. 2 Johns Hopkins (6-0) when the lacrosse powers meet at Homewood Field in Baltimore at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Against a Blue Jays team known for slowing the game down and stalling offensively, the Orange will need to take advantage of every offensive opportunity it can.

Despite the struggles at the X, Desko has been pleased with Syracuse’s overall play to this point. The new-look defense has been solid in front of goaltenders Matt Lerman and Dominic Lamolinara, and the offense has been productive, scoring 41 goals in four games.

‘I think right now, we’re right where we’re at right now, this is where we want to be,’ SU defender Matt Harris said. ‘I think so far we’re doing well and we got to keep progressing.’

While the defense and offensive attack have both shown flaws early, the faceoff unit needs the most work early in the season.

An 8-of-28 performance cost Syracuse a chance to upset the top team in the country in Virginia. Desko said seeing his team take a 6-4 lead into halftime despite a lack of possessions was encouraging.

But the disparity in opportunities proved too much in the second half and SU fell short in a 14-10 loss.

‘I think we came out with a lot of confidence in a game like this with some newcomers and we competed,’ Desko said. ‘It was great that when we didn’t have possessions, we got ahead in the second quarter.’

The lackluster play in the X against the Cavaliers was a stark contrast to the Orange’s performance against Army the week before.

Daddio took every faceoff in the game for SU and controlled the game, going 16-of-22 against the Black Knights. The sophomore’s brilliant performance was crucial in the Orange’s 10-9 win, giving his team possession and keeping it away from a dangerous Army squad that displayed the ability to score in bunches despite the loss.

After the game, Desko and Daddio both acknowledged faceoffs were a weakness for the team heading into the season. But with Daddio’s apparent emergence against the Black Knights, they also were optimistic moving forward.

‘In the beginning of the season, obviously as (Desko) said, one of the big questions was going to be faceoffs,’ Daddio said after the Army game. ‘And we’ve been doing a lot more in practice.’

Since that matchup on Feb. 26, though, the unit has remained the major question surrounding this team.

After being dominated by Virginia, SU had trouble in the X again when it took on St. John’s last Saturday. The Red Storm – a team Syracuse beat 20-6 a year ago – held its own and gave the Orange a scare before finally falling 9-8.

The surprising performance could be traced back to faceoffs once again. Syracuse went just 8-of-21, allowing SJU to hang around until the final horn.

With Johns Hopkins up next, Desko knows his team has to improve to earn a victory. If Daddio and his teammates don’t, it could be a long day for the Orange on Saturday.

‘We’ve got to get the ball on our offensive side of the field and a couple more possessions after goals to give our defense a little break,’ Desko said, ‘and to give our offense the opportunity to score some goals.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on March 16, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu