MLAX : Orange successful in faceoff X; Kraus-Simmons trophy goes to SU
The one disadvantage Syracuse had on paper going into Tuesday’s game was at the faceoff X. The Orange has struggled all year with faceoffs, and Hobart featured a faceoff specialist in Bobby Dattilo, who entered the game with a .658 percentage at the X.
But SU managed to split 24 faceoffs evenly with the Statesmen. Hobart head coach T.W. Johnson attributed the Orange’s success to its wing play.
‘I think there were some where we actually won the draw,’ Johnson said. ‘And I think their wing guys, we knew that going into the game, they’ve got fast guys on the wing.’
Syracuse’s groundball work countered the Statesmen’s advantage at the X, helping the Orange to a 13-7 win. Johnson thought that led to one of the biggest differences in the game, and one of the biggest reasons why his team lost — possession.
‘I think the bottom line was they had the ball a lot more than we did tonight,’ he said.
Part of that came from Hobart’s sloppiness with the ball, as 20 turnovers turned Statesmen possessions into Orange chances. The Orange has struggled in previous games this year, going just 7-of-27 against Duke on April 3 and 5-of-13 against Villanova one week earlier.
But Tuesday, the wing players helped eliminate what could have been a major advantage for Hobart.
Syracuse’s faceoff success started at the opening whistle. Jeremy Thompson and Dattilo had a quick battle at midfield before the Orange midfielder flipped the ball backward to his left. As it flew just inches above the ground, SU senior Jovan Miller came in from the wing, reaching his stick out with one hand to make the catch just before the ball hit bounced away.
‘He’s a real good faceoff guy,’ Thompson said of Dattilo. ‘He’s a quick kid, and I think mentally I just went in there prepared not to jump, just get down on the ball. I got that first one, so it felt good.’
Syracuse brings trophy home once again
As Johnson watched the Syracuse players hoist the Kraus-Simmons trophy for the fifth straight season, the Hobart head coach had one thought running through his mind.
‘I wish I had it,’ Johnson said.
But in his seven years as head coach of the Statesmen, Johnson’s side has only defeated the Orange in 2006. Other than that game, SU has won by an average of 4.5 goals per game during Johnson’s tenure.
This year, SU knocked off Hobart 13-7 to retain the trophy created to honor a legendary coach from each of the two programs. For Syracuse, it commemorates the career of Roy Simmons Sr., who was at the helm of the Orange for 39 years and won 253 games. Hobart’s Babe Kraus compiled 208 wins in his tenure with the Statesmen.
Roy Simmons Jr. was in a box at the Carrier Dome watching SU win the Kraus-Simmons trophy for the 24th time in its 26 years of existence. And Roy Simmons III is on the SU coaching staff as the team’s director of operations.
SU head coach John Desko said his team is reminded of what the Simmons family means to the lacrosse program when it walks into the Roy Simmons Sr. Coaches Center every day of the season. That makes retaining the trophy all the more meaningful.
‘It’s great to keep the Kraus-Simmons trophy here in Syracuse,’ Desko said. ‘It brings a little more importance to this game having the trophy and having the Simmons family watch us play and keep the trophy here in Syracuse.’
This and that
Syracuse junior midfielder Kevin Drew registered the first two-goal game of his career. He scored the third goal of a 4-0 Syracuse run in the second quarter and the final goal of a 5-0 SU run in the third quarter. … The Orange held Hobart scoreless for a stretch of 15:56 in the first half. … Freshman Chris Daddio set a career-high by winning six of his nine faceoff attempts. … Syracuse’s three man-up goals were its highest total of the 2011 season. … Freshman Matt Harris recorded his first career goal. … Desko is now 12-1 all-time against Hobart.
