Men's Lacrosse

1st-line midfielders look for continued offensive production against Army

Spencer Bodian | Staff Photographer

Hakeem Lecky has equalled his assists total from his first three seasons in just two games this year. He, along with Henry Schoonmaker and Nicky Galasso, have been given much more space to attack with opposing defenses honing in on SU's starting attacks.

Henry Schoonmaker said his eyes light up when he sees the opportunity.

“Definitely in the game you get pretty excited,” Schoonmaker said. “You’re like, ‘Oh, awesome, they’re not coming to us so I can take it down the alley and shoot.’”

What’s catching his eye is an opening for him and the other first-line midfielders to attack, one that wasn’t always present last year.

After starting attacks Kevin Rice, Randy Staats and Dylan Donahue ran the offense in 2014, opposing defenses this year have already shifted more of their focus to them rather than Schoonmaker, Hakeem Lecky and Nicky Galasso in the midfield. It’s allowed the unit to produce more offensively, as Lecky and Galasso are already on pace to eclipse their point totals from last year in just five games this season.

SU’s next opponent, Army, boasted the nation’s top defense in 2014, one that allowed a Division I-low 101 goals. Schoonmaker said the Black Knights have the ability to slow down a game or speed it up, but that his unit will continue to produce if No. 15 Army (3-0) hones in on the No. 3 Orange’s (2-0) attack at 7 p.m. on Sunday in the Carrier Dome.



“A lot of teams have been really worried about our attack,” SU head coach John Desko said. “It’s a good first (midfield) group and the way teams have been playing us, it’s great for them to produce.”

In the second quarter against Cornell on Sunday, Big Red defenders Matt Schattner and Tim LaBeau tracked Staats as he ran behind the right side of the net with the ball.

An unmarked Galasso sprinted down the middle of the field from the 40-yard line, Staats fired him a pass from behind the net and Galasso backhanded the ball into the top-left corner while Schattner was slow to slide over.

“When they’re zoning in more on attack, that’s more of a game situation where like, all right, we know they’re not coming to us,” Schoonmaker said. “So we can go take a dodge and shoot right away because there’s no slide coming.”

In 2014, the trio of Schoonmaker, Lecky and Galasso combined for 42 goals and nine assists while not always being on the field at the same time. Now that the three fifth-year seniors are on the same unit, the experience and opportunity to attack are paying dividends.

Lecky, who had four assists in his first three years, has that many through two games to go along with four goals. Galasso already has five tallies through two contests after scoring 13 goals all of last season. And while Schoonmaker has gotten off to a slower start on the offensive end, Desko said he’ll start rounding into form.

“Obviously based off of last year, teams are putting more emphasis on our attack,” Rice said. “With the midfielders playing the way they are, teams are going to have to stop doing that or they’re just going to keep making them pay for it.”

Rice said he expects Army to play a zone defense and try and slow down the game similar to how Bryant did against the Orange in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament.

But the Black Knights also have the ability to speed a game up, as Schoonmaker noted. They showed that in an 18-17 loss — only the second game they allowed double-digit goals — to Notre Dame last year.

Regardless of what is thrown at Syracuse on Sunday, though, it now boasts a multi-dimensional offense that doesn’t drop off even if its primary options are contained.

“We kind of have to put that on ourselves to attack the goal a little bit more and make them respect us a little bit more,” Schoonmaker said. “They’re kind of forcing us to do that.”





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