Steve Panarelli listened closely to John Desko’s words until he heard the magic ones.

‘If you come here,’ the Syracuse men’s lacrosse coach told Panarelli, ‘we’ll let you play the way you want to play.’

That recruiting promise was one of the biggest factors in Panarelli choosing to play for the Orangemen. And next spring, as a freshman, he could take the starting defensive spot vacated by Sol Bliss.

The Orangemen finished their fall schedule Saturday, losing to Notre Dame, 10-9, and beating Dartmouth, 15-9, in the Algonquin Cup Lacrosse Invitational at Harvard. Throughout the fall, Panarelli has impressed Desko with his offensive-minded style – a foreign trait for most defensemen. SU coaches have allowed Panarelli the freedom to run with the ball.

‘He has good quickness, more potential to score,’ Desko said. ‘He’s probably our biggest threat going from the offensive to the defensive end.’

Indeed, Panarelli said he scored about 28 goals during his career at Farmingdale High in Massapequa. He played midfield until his freshman year.

‘It’s kind of different to see someone with a long-pole (stick) coming down (the field),’ he said. ‘I try to create offense.’

That alone differentiates him from Bliss, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound hulk who pounded opposing teams’ biggest players.

‘I’m more of a finesse guy,’ Panarelli said.

He agrees that he’s flashy, too, but the 6-foot, 190-pound Panarelli has added five to 10 pounds since he arrived at SU and said he’d like to add five to 10 more. Panarelli also wrestled and played running back and linebacker at Farmingdale.

If Panarelli does start in the spring – he said he thinks he has ‘a decent shot’ – he’ll be in elite company among recent SU defenders. All-Americans Billy St. George and John Glatzel, who both finished their careers in 2002, started as freshmen.

Desko described Panarelli as ‘aggressive.’ He’ll certainly need to assert himself in his first few games.

‘When you play an aggressive style, sometimes it’s all or nothing,’ Desko said. ‘That’s the biggest thing he’s got to work on right now. You either get (the offensive player) or you don’t. If you don’t, then he’ll score.’

Panarelli elevated his reputation over the summer, when he played with the U.S. under-19 team and was named the best defensive player at the World Lacrosse Championships.

‘We pegged him to be real before that,’ Desko said. ‘There weren’t many surprises with him.’

What may surprise Syracuse fans next season is the Orangemen’s face-off man. Chris Bickel’s graduation leaves SU scrambling for a replacement. While junior Jake Plunkett is the front-runner, four other players – freshmen Jon Jerome and Dan Brennan, and juniors Chris DiMarco and Geoff Keough – will compete for the spot, Desko said.

Keough, originally from Ridgewood, N.J., transferred from Fairfield. Desko praised Jerome and Brennan’s play in the Orangemen’s win over Dartmouth. (Brennan is Panarelli’s best high school friend and current roommate.)

But Desko was displeased with ‘pretty sloppy’ play against Notre Dame.

‘A lot of turnovers,’ he said. ‘But if we’re gonna have them, we’d rather have them in the fall.’

The Orangemen begin supervised running and lifting workouts next week. Senior attackman Mike Powell, who sat out fall practices to concentrate on academics, will come back next spring, as Syracuse will open the season returning seven of 10 starters.

‘But those young guys,’ Desko said, ‘they need game experience.’

Published on October 20, 2003 at 12:00 pm