John Desko saw a difference in John Galloway. Mistakes Syracuse’s starting goalie would have made last year, like jumping to the weak side, or springing up to make a save, did not happen during the Orange’s 10-7 victory over Harvard in its final preseason scrimmage.

Though the Crimson scored seven goals Saturday, Galloway allowed only two. Backup Al Cavalieri allowed the other five. Galloway made eight saves, but he credited his success to his defense.

Last year, Galloway had senior defenders Evan Brady and Kyle Guadagnolo as a safety net before a shot would come his way. This season, Galloway’s help lacks the amount of experience Brady and Guadagnolo boasted. But Sid Smith, Matt Tierney and transfer John Lade stepped up Saturday, allowing Galloway to shine in the goal.

‘They didn’t let them take any good shots, only bad ones,’ Galloway said. ‘I didn’t make any incredible saves, just the saves I should make.’

The modest Galloway had a point. Lade pressured the Crimson defenders, chasing them around the field and Smith received a slashing penalty in the fourth quarter for going after the ball aggressively.

Galloway insisted the communication that defensive coordinator Lelan Rodgers preaches helped the defense click during the scrimmage. The defensemen shouted where Harvard’s attack were and confused the Crimson in the second quarter, holding it to one goal and on its nine shots.

But Galloway made smart decisions as well. His technical play illustrated the national championship experience he now obtains. Galloway remained steady in the first quarter when a Harvard shot bounced, but he scooped it up and cleared the ball immediately.

‘He did a good job of understanding where the ball was,’ Desko said. ‘He didn’t move, which is what we want our goalies to do. Not give up any space in the goal.’

Desko’s one complaint about Galloway stemmed from three turnovers on clear attempts, but Desko attributed those mistakes partially to the Orange’s defensemen forcing Galloway to clear the ball too many times.

Galloway knows progress must still be made, but he also thrives on the possibility of future success.

‘I’m really excited with how our defense played,’ Galloway said. ‘I think our defense presses really well, and we just need to keep the communication going. They made my job easy today.’

The missing ‘X’ factor

Harvard beat Syracuse, 11-9, in face-offs during Saturday’s scrimmage.

Jake Moulton took most of the face-offs for Syracuse. Jovan Miller and Scott Kahoe took a few later on in the game, but none of the trio experienced much success. Last year’s face-off specialist Danny Brennan graduated, leaving a hole at the ‘X.’

‘I felt like Jake did OK in the first half,’ Desko said. ‘We made some mental errors in the second half. We need to work with our long and short sticks and really compete for those ground balls.’

Moulton will most likely take face-offs Sunday in the season-opener against Providence.

Perritt back but takes a hit, Nims out

Midfielder Pat Perritt returned from an offseason injury Saturday, after not playing in last weekend’s scrimmage. After seeing limited action early in the game, Perritt was hit in the neck by a Harvard defenseman in the second quarter. He left the field and did not return for the remainder of the scrimmage.

Desko said he kept Perritt on the sideline for precautionary reasons, but Perritt will be ready to play Sunday.

Syracuse’s other captain, Kenny Nims, did not practice all week due to an illness and did not play Saturday. Desko said Nims should return to play against Providence.

‘We played a few different combinations on midfield because we were hurt on attack and didn’t get as many guys through as we wanted to,’ Dekso said. ‘A couple guys are not 100 percent right now, but we’ll get them back out there.

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on February 8, 2009 at 12:00 pm