CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Randy Staats was the first Syracuse player on the field on Saturday, more than 90 minutes before the opening faceoff.

He walked out to the edge of the turf in a Syracuse lacrosse T-shirt and khakis and looked out at the field for the first time. He fidgeted with the tape at the end of his stick before ripping it off, throwing it in the trash and going to get changed.

At that point there was no official word on whether Staats would return to the SU lineup after missing three games with a lower-body injury, but he appeared to be getting ready even though no decision had been made.

“I felt good all week when I was practicing with the team,” Staats said after the game. “Yesterday it felt good and in pregame. I was just feeling well and I think Coach made the decision to put me in.”

In No. 2 Syracuse’s (8-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) 17-15 loss to No. 4 North Carolina (12-1, 3-0) on Saturday, Staats started and had three assists, but didn’t score a goal in his four shot attempts. He didn’t play the whole game, though, because SU head coach John Desko said his injury — Staats had his left knee wrapped in ice after the game — held him back in his conditioning.

Desko said he thought Staats was rusty, but that he played well. And Staats said he planned to be ready for SU’s game against Hobart on Tuesday despite the short turnaround, joking that his three weeks on the sideline provided him with enough time off.

“(He) may have dropped a pass or missed a shot or two,” Desko said. “All things considered, for how much he practiced, it was good to get him back out there.”

Staats showed flashes of being the prolific piece that the Syracuse attack missed in his absence. He helped start the stagnant Orange offense 14 minutes into the game by getting himself open for a pass from Jordan Evans. He then dumped it back to Evans, who whipped a shot in the goal to cut the deficit to 5-1.

He said the UNC defense did a good job sliding and playing physical defense. That, along with being self-admittedly a little rusty, played a factor in why he wasn’t able to score after totaling nine goals in the last two games he appeared in.

“I only had like a week to practice,” Staats said. “I’ll bounce back these next couple days and take on Hobart.”

Published on April 12, 2015 at 7:33 pm

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