Syracuse relaxed. It had good reason to. The Orange had an eight-goal lead on Albany going into halftime, and the next 30 minutes would be a formality in another easy win.

As the Orange players started breathing easy, Albany attacked. The Albany team that made sloppy turnovers and failed to find the back of the net was gone. And a team that could give No. 3 Syracuse a scare emerged.

‘We obviously must have gone in and relaxed,’ Syracuse head coach John Desko said. ‘We thought the game was over at halftime winning 10-2, and Albany didn’t understand that.’

Despite the lackluster play in the third quarter that almost cost Syracuse the game, the Orange (10-2) squeaked by the Great Danes (6-5), 15-13, Friday night at the Carrier Dome.

After a bevy of goals in the first half, Syracuse slowed down and scored just one in the third quarter and five total in the second half. Albany countered with eight in the third. It then added three more in the fourth, trying to claw its way out of the first-half hole it created.

Desko and Syracuse took their eight-goal lead for granted and let up the pressure it was applying to Albany.

So the offense stopped scoring and the defense started letting Albany score. That’s where Syracuse’s problems started. Albany gained momentum and almost achieved a complete comeback.

Chris Daniello threw a sloppy, forced shot with four minutes remaining in the third. Galloway had no saves in the third quarter and no solution for Albany’s Corey Small. Galloway allowed Small three goals and a total of eight that quarter.

Since the game appeared over, Syracuse grew comfortable and opened the door for Albany.

‘I think we just settled up in the third quarter,’ midfielder Dan Hardy said. ‘We didn’t really work as hard as we should have been. We relaxed a little bit.’

As Syracuse crumbled, Albany took advantage of its man-up situations. With three minutes remaining, SU attack Tim Desko slammed into an Albany player and was called for a one-minute illegal body check penalty. Then Rocky Bonitatibus scored to cut Syracuse’s lead to two.

Syracuse normally struggles to start fast. The five-goal first quarter was one of the largest outputs the Orange has had all season. The second-half slowdown was uncharacteristic of a Syracuse team that thrives on making late-game runs, like it did against Virginia and Loyola. The Orange’s late run failed against the Cavaliers earlier in the season, but succeed against the Greyhounds March 28.

‘It was a combination of us kind of relaxing at halftime and then not quitting, and we got some opportunities and scored,’ Desko said. ‘And we got a fire started. Fortunately, we had the time between the third and fourth quarters to settle the group down.’

In between the third and fourth quarters, Desko gathered his team on the sideline. He spoke calmly as he drew up a play. His words resonated with his struggling team. Syracuse scored four quick goals to start the fourth, but Albany scored three, making the contest seem like anybody’s game.

As Albany took advantage of a complacent Syracuse team in the third quarter, the crowd only fueled the Great Danes’ success. It wasn’t until Desko was able to speak with his team that the group refocused to reinforce its lead and walked away victorious.

‘We were up the whole game,’ said Hardy, who registered a hat trick. ‘We knew that we had the ability to win the game and take over. We just had a little breakdown. It was just about us offensively getting our composure, settling down.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on April 19, 2009 at 12:00 pm