Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Sends Message in Blowout Opener: 'It's Just The Beginning'
Tucker Dordevic flicked a bounce shot behind his back and into the top left corner of Holy Cross' net.
The jumbotron flashed first-season head coach Gary Gait, smiling on the sideline wearing a dark suit with an orange tie. The scoreboard read 18-2 Syracuse, 4:03 left in the second quarter.
"I can honestly say, and I've told people this before, I never thought this could ever be a thing," said Gait who won three national titles as a player for Syracuse. "If you had asked me in college, 'do you think you'll ever be the head coach of Syracuse?' I would've absolutely said no."
Friday afternoon's Orange onslaught wasn't just convincing, it was overwhelming. Reporters scanned both ends of the roster jotting names as stat keepers strained to follow SU's effortless score-sheet abuse.
13 different players hit the back of the net in SU's 28-5 win over Holy Cross on Saturday, the school's highest point total in a season opener. The group never trailed, thanks to nine goals in the first quarter and 10 unanswered to start the game.
"I'm just happy they didn’t play down to the competition as people say," Gait said. "They stepped up and executed the challenge that was in front of them."
The Orange did it without top returning attacker Owen Hiltz who injured himself in a scrimmage this preseason. Hiltz, who stood on the sideline with his right arm in a sling, scored 48 points in 13 games last season.
Mikey Berkman started in his place alongside Owen Seebold and Dordevic on attack. Berkman scored three goals and added two assists. He shot the ball just three times in two games last season.
"(Berkman's) fit in seamlessly," Seebold said. "Losing Hiltz is tough for us, but I think Mikey has stepped in. As we all saw today, he put his skills on display and he's a great fit in our offense."
Seebold and Dordevic scored five goals each and combined for 12 points. Syracuse's starting attack accounted for 17 of SU's 28 points.
"That chemistry is starting to show," Gait said. "The real chemistry gets tested when you play in a much closer game and you have ups and downs and you have to recover and rebound."
And that's part of it; Syracuse never struggled. Gait's squad looked every bit deserving of their No. 13 preseason ranking.
Seebold said the group carries an underdog mentality into this season. On paper, they won't be favored next week when No. 2 Maryland comes to the Carrier Dome, ready to test SU's chemistry.
"You hear a lot of talk about our team and how we might not be as stacked as years prior," Seebold said. "But we've kept our heads down and we've worked from September on through now. Today was kind of just the culmination of all that hard work. It's just the beginning."