Perritt’s career high in points fuels Orange lacrosse in victory
Mired in an early-season slump, Pat Perritt decided to start attending practice and games a little earlier than scheduled. The senior midfielder on the men’s lacrosse team just wanted to shoot the ball, so that especially on game day, he felt ready for action.
‘I think (at) the beginning of the season I wasn’t doing a good job getting my hand free,’ Perritt said. ‘My shooting just wasn’t there, and I’ve been really trying to get there early.’
After another career-high game for Peritt, the extra work seems to be paying off.
Perritt’s two goals and assists helped lead the Orange in its 13-4 victory over Hobart Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome. Perritt set a career-high in points, while also matching the two assists he delivered against Binghamton on Saturday.
‘I was happy with the way I played,’ Perritt said. ‘I still gotta improve, keep working on my shooting, and hopefully from there I’ll continue to improve and keep on going.’
Through the first four games of the season, the senior captain had just one goal to show for his efforts. He scored in the opening contest against Providence, then found himself without any point over the next three contests.
But in recent contests, a different Perritt has showed up. He scored two goals in a win over Johns Hopkins, then notched a career-high two assists against Binghamton. Tuesday night, he just continued his stretch of hot play with his two goals and assists.
‘I think he’s started to slow things down a little bit,’ senior midfielder Dan Hardy said. ‘For the first couple games, it seemed he came out just trying to do way too much and running too fast, so now he’s really trying to set his feet and get his shots off and make the extra pass and is settling down out there.’
Early in the game, though, it didn’t seem as if Perritt might be able to contribute after he hit his head on the ground while shooting early in the first quarter. He laid on the ground while members of the Syracuse staff ran out to Perritt in concern, but he said he was fine and the hit just, ‘rung (his) bell.’
Perritt finally made his mark in the game with back-to-back assists late in the first half to give SU an 8-0 advantage. On the first goal, he found Hardy for the score with 8:05 remaining in the second quarter. Under three minutes later, he fed Stephen Keogh, who led the team with four goals, with a perfect pass in the middle of the defense for another tally.
Coming into the contest, Perritt only had two assists on the season, the two he registered against Binghamton, and nine total for his career. But for the second-straight contest, he found a way to let the others celebrate.
‘I’m thinking I’m really starting to learn after four years, finally, not to always force the shot and maybe give it up to a guy who has a better shot,’ Perritt said. ‘I just think this team turns to the offense so well, it’s so easy to find the open man.’
Perritt made sure he got some glory, too. He scored SU’s last goal of the first half on a behind-the-back shot that he said was the only shot he could go with. On that play, Perritt beat his defender, Hobart’s Kurtis Gibbs, to notch the score. He also added a fourth-quarter goal on an assist from Kenny Nims, in which he niftly beat his defender again.
Syracuse head coach John Desko was pleased to see his captain find his groove.
‘Pat has only one speed, and he goes hard all the time,’ Desko said. ‘In the previous games he’s been this close, and we really saw it against Hopkins. He came alive and had a couple big goals for us, and we’re going to be that much more dangerous if he finds his way here.’
With his two goals and two assists of the night, Perritt finished tied for second on the team in points and now has six over his last three games. With that recent success, Perritt believes he’s finally hitting his stride.
‘I sure hope so,’ Perritt said. ‘It’s just nice to get out here and be able to contribute.’
