When the Carrier Dome public address announcer called Ralph D’Agostino’s name in the starting lineup against Albany on April 2, the Syracuse defender was standing in the tunnel formed for the starters to run through rather than sitting on the bench with them.

“Why weren’t you on the bench when they were calling the starting lineup?” D’Agostino recalled John Desko asking him.

D’Agostino said he didn’t know that he was starting. But the head coach thought it was assumed that the short, quick and stocky junior would match up against shifty Albany attack Connor Fields.

Then as the Orange warmed up against North Carolina on Saturday, the 5-foot-10, 191-pound D’Agostino knew he’d probably start against 5-foot-5 attack Joey Sankey, but asked volunteer assistant coach Steve Scaramuzzino — who laughed in response — just to make sure.

The last two games have been D’Agostino’s first two starts of the season. They haven’t been expected, though — even the official Syracuse men’s lacrosse Twitter account didn’t list D’Agostino as a starter in either game. But his physique and speed make him the ideal matchup defender for smaller, quicker attacks, something that Desko said is becoming a trend in college lacrosse.

And it’s something Hobart (7-3, 4-0 Northeast) will possess, as its top three goal scorers are all 6 feet or under, when taking on the No. 4 Orange (8-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Carrier Dome.

“As far as matchups go, I think Ralph is definitely one of the top cover guys,” SU defender Brandon Mullins said. “He has really quick feet, and especially with players like Joey Sankey who have a low center of gravity, he can match up pretty easily against them.”

D’Agostino admitted 6-foot-2 defenders Sean Young and Jay McDermott are probably more polished players overall that are better off-ball. But D’Agostino realizes his role, and has known since the start that he’ll be used for a more niche set of abilities.

He said the left-handed Young is a better matchup against powerful right-handed players and that the three aren’t necessarily interchangeable. Still, the type of attacks that Syracuse is facing better suits the arsenal D’Agostino can defend them with.

“You’ve got some 5-7 guys, 5-8 guys running around and it can be tough for someone really tall to cover these guys that get underneath them,” Desko said. “I think Ralph’s got very good feet, he matches up size-wise, he’s a strong player so he can push them out and keep them away from the goal.

“To cover that trend of attackmen lately, he’s a good matchup for them.”

Apart from just his smaller stature aiding him in getting leverage on attacks closer to his size, D’Agostino spends time on getting faster to also keep up with them.

He joked that he’s unable to stretch himself out to get taller, so the majority of his time with assistant strength and conditioning coach “Muscle Matt” Mancz is spent working on his lower-body strength.

“My dad said when I was a little kid, ‘If you’re not going to be big, you’ve got to be fast,’” D’Agostino said. “Quickness is probably the best attribute of myself.”

Mullins said that D’Agostino can squat more than 475 pounds, and D’Agostino confirmed, but admitted redshirt freshman Josh Pulver is the one person on the team able to squat more.

“I think he beat me by like five or 10 pounds,” D’Agostino said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Damn it.’”

Against Hobart, Syracuse will likely defend a front line of 6-foot Alex Love, 5-foot-10 Matt Opsahl and 5-foot-8 Brendan Saylor.

Syracuse still has film to watch and Desko will consult assistant coach Lelan Rogers on matchups, the head coach said. They haven’t determined the starting defenders yet, but if D’Agostino’s name is called, it won’t be a surprise this time.

“Even these past two weeks, I wasn’t totally sure if I was or not until they called my name so I don’t know,” D’Agostino said. “I’m just going to prepare like I’m going to start.”

Published on April 13, 2015 at 8:52 pm

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