Freshman Marasco tallies first goal in SU uniform
It only took 10 minutes for freshman phenom JoJo Marasco to get his name on the stat sheet.
As the rest of the Syracuse offense was busy exploding to a big lead early in its first game, the midfielder joined in on the fun.
Marasco took a pass at the top of the box with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter and squared up to face the Denver defense. After a quick dodge, Marasco took off toward the goal down the right hash. He easily blew past a defender and ripped a left-handed shot past Denver goalie Peter Lowell.
The goal gave SU a 6-2 lead and was the first career score for Marasco. He didn’t score again but added an assist late in the second quarter.
‘We know we are going to play younger players this year,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘It was good to see JoJo in the midfield and get that goal there. He got a lot of time in the fourth quarter playing attack, and we are just trying to get him as much game experience as possible.’
Marasco made a lot of noise in the preseason when he asked to wear the storied No. 22 Syracuse lacrosse jersey. Inside Lacrosse ranked him the No. 5 player in his class, but still, SU’s coaches didn’t grant him the historic number. Instead, he wears No. 1, and senior Cody Jamieson, who scored four goals against the Pioneers, wears No. 22.
But junior midfielder Jovan Miller sees the potential in Marasco. He thinks that first goal is just the beginning for the talented freshman.
‘JoJo is like my little brother,’ Miller said. ‘I have been looking after him. He has all the talent in the world. I always tell him he doesn’t shoot enough. His dodging and shooting ability is ridiculous. He is going to be a superstar one day.’
Tough luck
Bill Tierney wanted to make it perfectly clear he was not making any excuses.
The Denver head coach knows his team got beat by a superior Syracuse squad. He knows his team is a little thin. He knows a program does not change overnight.
But Tierney also knows his team has had to deal with a couple tough breaks in this very young season.
‘Our freshman faceoff-phenom blew his hamstring out just last week and our best pole got hit by a car on Wednesday,’ Tierney said. ‘When you have Joel White and those guys playing on the wings, it doesn’t help not to have two of your better athletes.’
In addition, Tierney noted that his team elected to play 18 regular-season games and therefore did not have any scrimmage play before the Syracuse game. Instead of having the luxury of a tune-up, the Pioneers were thrown into the fire against the No. 1-ranked Orange at the Carrier Dome.
‘I am sure a couple weeks ago when Coach (Desko) played Hofstra and when he played Maryland, he made some adjustments from there,’ Tierney said. ‘This was our first go. But it is not difficult because you lose to Syracuse because that has become a regular for a lot of people.’
After the game, Tierney said he told his guys that he has been in this situation before. He was hopeful and felt going against a talented Syracuse team was a great way to show his guys that it takes hard work to get to that elite level.
Though his Pioneers struggled, when asked if the Orange will ever make the trip out to Denver, Tierney said it reminded him of his early days at Princeton.
‘When I started, I promised Hopkins we would play at Hopkins every year until we beat them,’ Tierney said. ‘And a couple years later, they had to come back to Princeton.’
Man-down? No Problem
JoJo Marasco danced behind the Denver net as he tried to shake his defender.
The true freshman used his quickness to jar back and forth on the balls of his feet, hoping to break free and create a scoring opportunity for the Orange. But Marasco lost the ball and was ultimately called for a pushing penalty with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
Despite being a man down, Syracuse didn’t let up.
White intercepted a Denver pass and got it upfield to Miller. Miller zipped it over to Tim Harder, who fired a shot on the Denver net. Zander Buteux made the save, but Syracuse recovered the rebound and Chris Daniello fired another shot. Though Buteux made another save, the Orange gobbled up the rebound again.
With that, the man-down situation was long gone and Syracuse was back in the offensive set looking to add on to an 8-2 lead.
All game long Syracuse fought off man-down situations, keeping the Pioneers from ever getting back in the game. Denver was able to convert on just two of seven man-advantage opportunities for the game. And both of those scores came against SU reserves in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse harassed the Denver ball carrier even when the Pioneers were at a disadvantage. White, Brain Megill, Matt Tierney and Brandon Conlin led a Syracuse defense that knew when to step up the pressure and rattle the Pioneers.
‘They were fabulous and ran us into the ground a little bit and hustled all over the place,’ Denver head coach Bill Tierney said. ‘We were a bit erratic with the ball when we got it, but it is a credit to them. They really took it to us.’
