PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The goals didn’t come quickly for the Syracuse offense Saturday.

The Orange didn’t play the run-and-gun style that had served so well this year.

And that was just fine.

The Syracuse offense patiently and methodically picked apart Rutgers’ zone defense throughout the Orange’s 17-9 win over the Scarlet Knights Saturday at Yurcak Field in front of 2,305.

‘That’s what the zone will do,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘It forces you to be more patient, and as a result I think they had to play more defense against our offense.’

The win puts the Orange (10-1) in a strong position to run the table and secure a high seed in the NCAA tournament, which starts in three weeks. Syracuse’s win streak now stands at eight games, the longest regular-season streak since 1995.

Rutgers’ zone defense, instead of actively challenging the Syracuse attack to force quick shots and turnovers, allowed the Orange open passing lanes around the perimeter. It’s a scheme Syracuse has seen only a handful of times all season, and the Orange was forced to be patient throughout extended possessions.

Meanwhile, the Rutgers (4-5) attack was confined to lean over the midfield line and watch Syracuse turn lacrosse into keep away, and waste valuable clock time.

‘If we had possession of the ball, we would have opportunities to score,’ RU head coach Jim Stagnitta said. ‘That was our thought going into the game, that we were capable of putting some points on the board against them. But the key was to be able to have the ball.

The 17-goal total was the second-highest of the year, behind only a season-opening 21-6 win over Villanova. Midfielder Dan Hardy found the shooting touch that has eluded him most of the season and netted a career-high four goals to lead the Orange. Mike Leveille scored three, while Kenny Nims and Greg Niewieroski added two apiece.

With freshman goalkeeper John Galloway struggling, making only four saves while giving up nine goals, the offense effectively usurped the role of defense. Galloway saw only 13 shots on net, tied for the second-lowest total for an SU opponent all year.

‘They carried us,’ Galloway said of the offense. ‘They scored 17 goals. When you’ve got an offense doing that, you’ve got a little room to mess up, and that’s what happened today.’

Syracuse set the tone of the game from the opening faceoff. After Danny Brennan won the draw, the SU offense milked 3:10 off the clock before Leveille found Niewieroski wide open at the doorstep for an easy goal.

‘We’ve just been trying to focus on valuing our possessions and waiting for our good opportunities,’ Leveille said. ‘I think that’s why we’re scoring so early.’

Rutgers wouldn’t lay down without a fight, though. Syracuse was out-played in the latter stages of the first quarter and held just a one-goal advantage (3-2) going into the first break.

The Orange went on an 8-2 to run to cruise through most of the second and third quarters before the Scarlet Knights threatened again. Rutgers closed the gap to four, 13-9, with 6:54 left, but a four-goal spurt ensured the win for Syracuse.

The same slow-it-down tactic that had helped Syracuse gain a lead bailed it out in the end as well. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, after RU midfielder Justin Pennington cut the lead to five, Syracuse used another long possession to work through the Rutgers zone, before Hardy took a pass from Nims and launched a shot past Rutgers goalie Bill Olin.

‘That was really a big one for us,’ Desko said. ‘We got a lot of zone work, the guys showed a lot of patience against it, and not only did we take time off the clock but we scored too.’

It was a relief win for Syracuse, a team that had plenty of reasons to fall victim to a late-season upset. The Orange was playing in its third game in eight days, on an unfamiliar grass surface, with essentially one day of preparation. The Scarlet Knights had all week to prepare.

So it didn’t bother Hardy that nettlesome Rutgers wouldn’t let Syracuse run away with a win, as the Orange has so many times this year.

‘It just came down to us concentrating, playing our game, settling down a little bit, working the ball,’ Hardy said. ‘They came back a couple times, but we just had to hold it off.’

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on April 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm