2015 Season Preview: Part I

During the next two days, Cuse.com will preview the upcoming 2015 men's lacrosse season. Part I focuses on the attack and midfield.

Syracuse head coach John Desko didn't have to teach much in the fall. It's one of the blessings of having such an experienced 2015 roster. Syracuse brings back 41 players, including seven starters, from a 2014 squad that went 11-5 and earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

"When you have so many players coming back it's more of a refresher for the group than it is to go out and do a lot of X's and O's," Desko said.

The Orange returns all three starting attackmen, two-thirds of its first midfield and close defense, and one member of last year's goalie rotation. With that many experienced players in the fold, senior attackman Kevin Rice says expectations are high after last year's first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Bryant.

"We've got a lot of guys back in key roles and some younger players who played well last year that I think will step up," Rice said. "Especially being a senior, it's pretty much championship or bust at this point."

Syracuse's veteran lineup will be put to the test early and often during its quest for a return trip to Championship Weekend. Eight of the Orange's 12 regular-season foes are ranked in the USILA Preseason Coaches' Poll, including six in the top 10. The slate includes eight home games and three true road dates. The St. John's game is a neutral-site matchup for the second year in a row as part of the Cobb County Classic Series at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga.

Among the schedule's highlights is a March 22 home game against two-time defending national champion Duke that will mark the Blue Devils' first trip to the Dome since 1994.

Should the Orange finish in the top four of the conference standings, it will advance to the semifinals of the ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship. The tournament will again be played at PPL Park outside Philadelphia, with the winner receiving the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

ATTACK
The Orange boasts perhaps the most potent starting attack unit in the country. Seniors Kevin Rice, Randy Staats and redshirt junior Dylan Donahue combined for 190 points in 2014. All three topped 50 points a year ago, the first time since 2001 Syracuse had three different 50-point scorers.

Rice is the quarterback. A 2015 Inside Lacrosse Preseason First Team All-American, the Skaneateles, N.Y. product paced the Orange with 80 points last year, including a team-high 44 assists. Rice was fifth in the NCAA in scoring (5.0 points per game) and recorded nine games of at least five points.

Staats and Donahue were on the receiving end of many of Rice's passes. Donahue led the Orange with 37 goals and finished with 54 points. In last year's season opener against Siena, Donahue put the college lacrosse world on notice, scoring a career-high eight goals, the most ever for a Syracuse player in a season-opening game. In addition, he's developed into one of the sharpest shooters in the sport. Donahue was third in the NCAA with a .529 shooting percentage in 2014 and put better than 70 percent of his shots on cage.

A star for the Iroquois Nationals at last summer's Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship, Staats racked up 33 goals and 23 assists in only 14 games for the Orange last season. Like Rice, Staats earned preseason All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse and might be the best combination finisher and feeder of the group. Staats had a breakout game with seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) in a 17-16 overtime win against Albany and recorded four five-goal games a year ago.

The trio of Rice, Donahue and Staats won't come off the field much, but if one needs a breather there are several young players who can step in. Redshirt sophomore Jeff Desko bumps down to attack this year after playing four games in the midfield last season. Second-year players Matt Lane and J.T. Forkin spent 2014 learning the Orange system while redshirting. Lane is an imposing figure at 6-foot-7 and 244 pounds. Forkin was the winner of the Bill Rich Award as Nassau County's top attackman when he was at Long Beach High School (N.Y.).

True freshmen Gale Thorpe and Brennen Ferguson will also push for backup roles. Thorpe is the son former Syracuse lacrosse standout and current Orange women's lacrosse associate head coach Regy Thorpe. Gale starred at nearby Jordan-Elbridge High School (N.Y.) and was rated the No. 53 overall prospect in the Class of 2013 by Inside Lacrosse. Ferguson was a 2014 U.S. Lacrosse All-American at Niagara Wheatfield High School in Western New York and twice led the Falcons in scoring.

MIDFIELD
The Orange coaching staff has a blend of veterans and talented young players it can mix and match in the midfield to complement the team's dynamic attack trio.

Two-thirds of last year's top line return in the form of captains Hakeem Lecky and Henry Schoonmaker. Both have logged time in more than 50 games during their careers. Lecky is lightning-quick and had his most productive season in 2014, scoring 15 goals, which was one more than his career total entering the year. Schoonmaker is a do-it-all midfielder with 38 career goals. He is good on the ground and can get back and play defense if necessary.

Redshirt senior Nicky Galasso successfully made the transition from attack to midfield last season. After missing the entire 2013 campaign and the first two games of last year due to injury, Galasso found his niche with the second midfield. He posted four two-goal games and had at least one goal in eight of the last 10 contests in 2014.

One of the most intriguing players to watch this season will be sophomore Jordan Evans. The nation's top recruit coming out of high school, lacrosse pundits predicted immediate stardom for Evans, but he battled a nagging injury and was limited to 11 games as a freshman. Evans found a role as a defensive midfielder toward the end of the season, and after a productive fall he is expected to contribute more on offense in 2015.

The Orange midfield could also receive a shot in the offensive arm from junior transfer Tim Barber. The younger brother of former Orange star Ryan Barber, Tim spent his first two seasons at Onondaga Community College (OCC) and led the Lazers to two national championships. He was named the 2014 NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year after racking up 55 goals and 36 assists as an attackman.

The coaching staff has been impressed with the improved play of redshirt sophomore Sergio Salcido. Salcido earned time with Syracuse's top six during the fall after seeing action mainly on the faceoff wings in 2014. Salcido tied for the team lead with three goals in the Orange's fall scrimmage versus Bellarmine and is a hard-working, fierce competitor.

Sophomore Nick Weston and redshirt freshmen Ryan Simmons and Hayes McGinley are also in the mix for playing time. Weston tallied a pair of goals last season, including the eventual game-winner in the fourth quarter at Johns Hopkins. Simmons spent last year learning the system and took several runs with the second midfield in the fall. McGinley showed promise and was expected to contribute last year, but spent his rookie season recovering from a shoulder injury.

Fourth-year junior Brenny Daly brings experience to the group, as does true junior Derek DeJoe. An extra-man specialist with a heavy outside shot, DeJoe has nine goals in 30 career games.

Freshmen Brad McKinney, Tyler Ford and Pat Carlin add depth to the unit. McKinney was rated the 60th overall prospect in this year's class by Inside Lacrosse and Ford was a four-time Section IV All-Star at Owego High School (N.Y.). Carlin tallied 210 points (118 goals, 92 assists) in his Vestal High School (N.Y.) career.

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tim Barber

Pat Carlin

Brenny Daly

Derek DeJoe

Jeff Desko

Dylan Donahue

Jordan Evans

Brennen Ferguson

Tyler Ford

J.T. Forkin

Nicky Galasso

Matt Lane

Hakeem Lecky

Hayes McGinley

Brad McKinney

Kevin Rice

Sergio Salcido

Henry Schoonmaker

Ryan Simmons

Randy Staats

Gale Thorpe

Nick Weston

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