Men's lacrosse

Comfortable SU lead allows John Desko to play reserves at X, in cage

Ben Williams and Bobby Wardwell have turned in exceptional performances at the faceoff X and in goal, respectively, to lift Syracuse.

But on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome regular-season finale, two of SU’s biggest playmakers took a back seat as head coach John Desko utilized his team’s depth more than he had all season.

It was third-year midfielder Cal Paduda at the X who succeeded in his biggest dose of playing time all year going against Hobart.

“It was important for us, especially in Cal’s case to get him out there,” Desko said. “He’s been doing a great job in practice and he even went out and took and few (faceoffs) and sat back down, and didn’t really seem to lose a beat.”

The No. 4 Orange (9-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) used four faceoff men and three goalies en route to an 18-5 victory over the Statesmen (7-4, 4-0 Northeast). Desko said utilizing his team’s deep roster was a vote of confidence to him as Syracuse prepares to head into the ACC tournament next week.



For SU, it was Williams, Paduda, sophomore Joe DeMarco, senior Mike Iacono, junior Austin Wentworth and freshman Nate Farrell who took turns at the X. In the cage it was Wardwell for 38 minutes before giving way to junior transfer Warren Hill and then to third-year goalie Evan Molloy for almost nine minutes.

Hill — who split time with Wardwell in SU’s loss at North Carolina on Saturday — saved five of Hobart’s shots on goal, smothering a couple of them at his shins on close-range low-angle shots. He allowed two goals to score in his time in the cage before Molloy was called upon.

“We want to get all the goalies out there actually,” Desko said. “Warren, we’ve been very confident in all year long and I think Bobby proved his point out there tonight and on the scoreboard.”

At the X, Williams has taken Syracuse’s faceoff unit to new heights this season and once again allowed the Orange to dominate time of possession.

But as the Orange’s lead grew on Tuesday, the role turned into a rotation for Syracuse for the first time all season.

Paduda was shelved last season with torn ligaments in his knuckles, and in his first dose of significant playing time went 6-for-9 at the X for SU. DeMarco managed to go 2-for-3 in his faceoff chances, Nate Farrell won his only one, Austin Wentworth was 0-for-1 and Iacono went 0-for-2.

“Some of the younger guys have been working very hard and been a part of our scout group, doing things that are very important to the team,” Desko said. “It was nice they got to get on the field tonight in a game situation and show what they can do.”





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