What Gary Gait said at Syracuse lacrosse media day

Syracuse men’s lacrosse head coach Gary Gait spoke to the media on Thursday a week-and-a-half ahead of the start of the season. Gait enters his fifth season at the helm with one of his best rosters in his coaching tenure, including USA Lacrosse’s Preseason Player of the Year, Joey Spallina.

After making championship weekend last season, the Orange are ranked third on the Inside Lacrosse Preseason KANE Division I Men's Lacrosse Media Poll. The season begins on Feb. 1 as Syracuse will host No. 17 Boston University.

Here are three takeaways from what Gait had to say.

On Trey Deere

Gait confirmed that Trey Deere would miss the season from injuries he sustained in a recent car accident. While Gait couldn’t provide updates on his condition or timeline, Deere’s teammates said they had been texting frequently.

Deere was supposed to be the natural replacement to Owen Hiltz, and Gait will be forced to look further down the depth chart for his new attacker on the left side. Gait left it up in the air as to who will play come February.

“We have a couple options down there,” Gait said. “We've been preparing to fill that position since Owen Hiltz left last year. So we utilized a bunch of people in the fall, we'll see what we do come first game of the year.”

On the schedule

Much was made of the gauntlet Syracuse will go through from Feb. 21 to Mar. 16. In the period Syracuse will play six consecutive away games including a trip west to Colorado to face Denver and Air Force. All six games will be played outdoors.

“People complain that we don't play enough on the road,” Gait said. “So now's our chance to prove that we can do that and do it well.”

Gait said the games in the middle of that stretch against Princeton and Penn were late additions which caused the dramatic month-long span between home games.

Half of the teams Syracuse will face during the six-game away period are in the USA Lacrosse preseason top 20 rankings. The Orange are scheduled to face half of the teams from the initial top 20 including every school in the top eight (not including Syracuse).

“The schedule was put together to challenge ourselves, make sure that we play teams that provide strong RPI,” Gait said. “If you look at our schedule, it does that and also mixes up multiple conferences.”

On Joey Spallina, and expectations

Heading into Joey Spallina’s senior year, Gait talked about helping his star captain navigate the expectations from his senior year and also trying to return to championship weekend.

"We've been working hard with him to handle the pressure and to put that out of his mind and not force things and just play the game,” Gait said.

With Spallina, Billy Dwan III and Riley Figueiras among the crowded group of talented seniors, the championship urgency has been turned up. Gait believes this pressure has translated into extra motivation heading into the season.

“They came here with the mindset that they want to win a national championship,” Gait said. "So, you know, they put a little bit of that pressure on themselves… that turns into extra work. It turns into doing the right thing at the right time, and right now, they're in a good position to hopefully play well.”

Gait talked about his team’s focus going into the year but was hesitant to make big statements until the games get going. That said, it’s common understanding that this team has lofty aspirations as well as the right pieces in place.

“It's easy when you haven't played anybody to say all the right things,” Gait said. “We're doing the right things right now, and we're going to be tested. It's how we handle pressure and adversity as the season goes on.”

SUPPORT THE JUICE ONLINE

For more discussion of Syracuse athletics, visit our free Syracuse Orange discussion forum.