MLAX | Armed & Ready: Veterans come alive late in decisive 6-goal 4th for SU

By: Pat DiSalvo

Posted: 2/27/06

The Syracuse men's lacrosse season started in an unexpected fashion on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

The No. 5 Orange found itself behind No. 15 Army by two goals before three minutes had run off the clock. SU stormed back, but the shots finding the back of the net were not fired by familiar faces.

A slew of younger players and transfers carried SU early, and senior Brett Bucktooth tallied all four of his points in the fourth quarter as the Orange broke through the tough Army zone for a 14-10 comeback victory.

"They've (the young players) got to get their experience, and they're going to make us better at the end of the year," Orange head coach John Desko said. "They gave us points in a close game, that's huge."

Freshman Matt Abbott and Joe Yevoli, a Virginia transfer, scored two goals for the Orange. Yevoli redshirted last season at Virginia because of a back injury and then left the school at the end of the year. Although he played in his first game in more than a year, Yevoli has had game experience. But for Abbott, the situation was completely new.

The freshman from Nottingham High School received much less attention than the trio of recruits Pat Perritt, Kenny Nims and Dan Hardy, but played the most minutes of any freshmen Saturday, even in the tight contest.

"When the game's close, we'll tend to use them a little less sometimes, except for Matt, who did a good job today," Desko said.

It was surprising that Abbott played as much as he did, let alone score two goals. In his first collegiate game at the Carrier Dome, he didn't seem too rattled.

"Before the game, I was trying not to think about it at all, I wasn't expecting to play that much," Abbott said. "When I ended up playing, once you get into the game you just forget about everything else."

Abbott was forced to play early as the Orange fell behind the Black Knights.

Nearly eight minutes into the first quarter, Yevoli fed Abbott and the freshman fired the ball from about 10 yards out, beating Army goalie Adam Fullerton. Abbott raised his fist in the air in celebration of his first collegiate goal. The tally tied the score at two, and the Orange never trailed again, although there were several ties.

Several other freshman and transfers aided the Orange. Nathan Kenney, who also transferred from Virginia, scored one goal. Redshirt freshman Pete Coluccini recorded nine saves and cleared the ball well, freshman Dan Hardy had a goal and an assist, and Nims added a goal.

Bucktooth, who proved to be quiet through the first three quarters, erupted in the fourth. After having a late third-period goal disallowed because he was in the crease, Bucktooth scored three times in the fourth and assisted on another goal. Both Bucktooth and Desko credited the Army zone for the early frustrations, but after some adjustments and more patience, the Orange exploded for six fourth-quarter goals.

"In the beginning of the game, a lot of us were forcing plays, trying to make things happen, and they weren't there," Bucktooth said. "Towards the end of the game, we sort of let things happen and let the game come to us, and when it came to us, we were just able to capitalize on the opportunities."

Bucktooth didn't have to force anything on his first goal. He stood in front of the crease with his stick cocked, waiting for a pass from Yevoli behind the net. Yevoli delivered, and Bucktooth slung the shot from his waist past the goalie. The score gave SU a 10-9 lead and was the game winning goal.

But without the freshmen and transfers, the Orange and Bucktooth may not have even been in a situation for a game winning tally. The inexperienced players turned things around for Syracuse when the situation looked bleak early.

An advantage for a prestigious program such as Syracuse is the ability to obtain such players that can contribute to the team right away.

"To have the top five scorers come back from last year, and the great additions of the freshmen and the transfers … we have a good core of players coming back," Bucktooth said. "Great players being added to our team just makes us very dangerous."