Orange Men's Lacrosse Will Answer Lingering Questions in Saturday's Season Opener
Gary Gait, Owen Seebold and Brett Kennedy answered questions from reporters after Wednesday night's practice. Despite the start of the season being just days away, uncertainties hang ahead of the Syracuse men's lacrosse opener against Holy Cross. Questions the group will answer when the Orange plays this Saturday.
"There's a difference between practice and playing games," Gait said. "There's going to be a lot of things to be evaluated on, but I think for this first game you're going to see kids get opportunities and hopefully they step up to the challenge."
That starts with Gait in his first season coaching his former college team. Though he coached SU's women's squad from 2007-2021, he last coached a men's group in 2011 with the MLL's Hamilton Nationals.
"(Gait has) a very relaxed, laid-back kind of mentality," Seebold said. "So that makes it easy for us to go up and talk to him, and it makes it easy to learn and develop that relationship."
Gait did not announce a starting goaltender for this Saturday. In January, he mentioned possibly playing multiple goalies this season.
Bobby Gavin, who transferred to Syracuse from Virginia in December, was one of the names thrown around in press calls this offseason. Gavin appeared in eight games and made two starts for the Cavaliers in 2021.
Harrison Thompson could be another goalie who sees time. Thompson backed up former SU starter Drake Porter from 2020-21 and made three appearances in goal last season.
"It's a completely open role, and they’ve all been working their tails off," Kennedy said about the goalie group. "They're being more vocal and taking a commanding role in that defense."
Syracuse allowed 10 or more goals in the last eight games of the 2021 season, including 15 or more in five of those contests. Gait added former Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala to coach the Orange defense this year.
SU starts this season against a Holy Cross squad they held to six goals last spring. The Crusaders averaged just under eight goals per game in 2021.
"Everyone's getting on the same page. We're working with coach Pietramala's new system and expectations are high. We set some high standards for us," Kennedy said. "It's obvious last year wasn’t our best year on defense, but that's in the rearview now. We're excited to show how we improved in the last year."
Another question mark hangs over the other end of Syracuse's roster. Attacker Owen Hiltz, SU's top returning point scorer, suffered an upper-body injury in a scrimmage this January and will likely miss Saturday's game.
Tucker Dordevic, traditionally a midfielder who scored 23 goals last year, took reps on attack this preseason. Gait mentioned Seebold, Lucas Quinn and Griffin Cook as players who also stood out this winter.
"(Cook) is definitely one of our more cerebral players who understands what we're trying to do on the offensive end," Gait said. "He's definitely been one of the bright lights through the preseason and we're hoping he can step up and have a breakout year.
"We're expecting a lot out of these guys. They'll be well prepared, so, it’s just a matter of being energized, excited and remembering what they've been taught."
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