Brian Crockett could do nothing to settle his nerves Friday night when anticipation jarred him from slumber on five or six occasions. Settle the ball, though — that the freshman could and did do, four times in the back of the Navy net in a span of less than 20 minutes Saturday.

Playing attack and midfield, Crockett cashed in three times in the third quarter and again in the fourth for a game-high four goals.

‘I was a little nervous, definitely, all day long,’ said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Crockett, who is from Yorktown. ‘But I just had a really good time out there.’

Crockett impressed coaches most with his multiplicity, as he dodged fluently and intelligently, did not force passes and shot with zip and accuracy.

‘We really feel Brian is a complete player,’ Syracuse head coach John Desko said. ‘He’s a good feeder, a good dodger, a good finisher.’

Crockett’s first goal was his prettiest. Twelve seconds into the second half, he dodged from behind the Navy net and rang a shot off the far post and in.

‘I saw that they had no slides coming,’ he said. ‘So I just went to the hoop.’

Crockett foreshadowed this kind of potential when he slammed home four goals in October in the Pumpkin Stickout. Saturday, Desko hinted that Crockett could challenge for a regular role in the offensive midfield given the Orangemen’s depth at attack.

‘He’s got to be on the field somewhere for us,’ Desko said. ‘He started the third quarter, we had three goals in the quarter, he had the three goals.’

Rock Sol-id return

Senior Sol Bliss, sidelined since tearing his ACL in the national semifinal last May 25, pronounced himself fit in the opening minutes Saturday by carpeting a Midshipman. Navy attackman Ian Dingman, though, gained a measure of retaliation — and dealt Desko a dose of trepidation — when in the fourth quarter, he crumpled Bliss at midfield.

‘Sol doesn’t go down too often, but he did on that one,’ Desko said. ‘He popped back up, and we asked him if he wanted to take a little break. He wouldn’t come off. He’s too proud for that.’

Bliss, who called getting unloaded upon by the 6-foot-3, 239-pound Dingman ‘fun,’ reported himself healthy 258 days since he last played competitively.

‘Everything felt great,’ he said. ‘I was pumped up to get out there, even for a scrimmage. I felt like a freshman.’

Per doctors’ orders, Bliss will wear a knee brace the entire season.

‘It doesn’t matter to me,’ he said. ‘I’m comfortable in it.’

Line dancing

Desko has yet to name a single starter in his offensive midfield, but his line combinations Saturday provided a glimpse at how he intends to replace Brian Solliday and Spencer Wright.

The first midfield featured juniors Steve Vallone and Sean Lindsay — both of whom played considerably last season on the second unit — with sophomore Jarett Park, who missed fall practice because he plays soccer for SU.

‘Those are the favorites,’ Desko said of Vallone and Lindsay. ‘Jarett we’re putting out there and playing because we don’t want to not play him and wait for his skills to catch up the rest of the season.’

Seniors Pat Hogan and Mike Smith and freshman Greg Rommel formed the second line. Sophomores Steve Lykudis, Kyle Olson and Jake Plunket constituted the third. If healthy, senior Bill Perritt would have run with the second or third unit, Desko said.

Crockett, who practices with both the attack and midfield, remains the wild card.

This and that

On Friday, the Orangemen practiced on a full indoor field for the first time this season. Because the SU men’s basketball team often practices at the Dome, the lacrosse team uses the remainder of the field or practices outdoors at Coyne Field. But Friday, the Orangemen waited until hoops concluded and worked out for two-and-a-half hours — about one hour longer than their usual routine the day before a game. … On Saturday, about two-thirds of the 2,489 lacrosse loyalists sat back down when, at the conclusion of the fourth quarter, the public address announcer noted: ‘Attention ladies and gentlemen: Syracuse and Navy will be playing one more period.’ … The fifth period allowed Desko a look at his entire roster. Forty-five of the 46 Orangemen — including all four goaltenders — played Saturday. Only the injured Perritt did not.

Published on February 8, 2003 at 12:00 pm