Away from the lacrosse field, Dan DiPietro fit in perfectly. Within a week, he ingratiated himself into the Syracuse lacrosse team, leaving his world as a Johns Hopkins defender. As he said, that was the easy part.

On the field, though, nerves grabbed hold of him. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, insecure that he’d win a starting spot – which he eventually did. Desperate to learn the Syracuse way, he constantly worried about how coaches viewed him and his play.

After a season of adjusting to Syracuse’s more up-tempo style on the run – literally – DiPietro’s role has reversed. He’s gone from student to SU’s defensive elder statesman, and he’ll debut in that role tomorrow at 4 p.m. when the Syracuse opens its season in a scrimmage against Navy in the Carrier Dome.

‘I feel a lot more comfortable,’ said DiPietro, a senior. ‘I don’t have to worry. Last semester, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s different now. I’m comfortable with everything.’

He’s making sure SU’s two transfers – Scott Ditzell and Kevin Dougherty – are feeling at home, too. It’s easier for Dougherty, who grew up in Syracuse before spending four years at Hofstra as a midfielder, redshirting his freshman year. Ditzell, a junior defender, spent two years at nearby Herkimer and could be redshirted this year.

‘There’s a little bit of a feeling-out process there,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘Understanding everything, and us getting a feel for their abilities and how they match up with other players.’

DiPietro, aware of the challenges of being a transfer, invited Ditzell to hang out with him and eats lunch with him regularly.

Growing into a leader is something DiPietro must do to erase the poor play of SU’s defense last year, which is most blamed for the Orangemen’s pedestrian 10-6 record. Syracuse allowed 10.3 goals per game, a number inflated by SU’s high-octane offense, but still subpar.

‘Our biggest problem last year was communication in team defense,’ DiPietro said. ‘We were messing up in our slides. At times we would break down and we wouldn’t cover for each other. This year, we work on it every single day. That’s something we’re not going to let happen again.’

After the loss of senior leader Sol Bliss, DiPietro and returning starter Donn Vidosh will be in charge of fixing the unit, and they have ample firepower to do so. Freshman Steve Panarelli, the break-out star of Fall Ball for SU, will compete for a starting spot. Sophomore John Wright and Ditzell will likely see time, too.

‘We’re a lot more talented than we were last year,’ DiPietro said. ‘Panarelli, he’ll definitely be the best defensive freshman in the country. He’s awesome. John Wright, he’s playing awesome. Ditzell, just as big as Sol, little bit faster and a little more aggressive. I think our defense is better than it was.’

That will depend on how well transfers and young players acclimate, which will be a key for the Orangemen against Navy.

‘Saturday will be a day for the young guys to get acquainted with the college game, and also for us to get clicking, back to the well-oiled machine we want to be,’ senior attackman Mike Powell said. ‘It’s going to be a good experience for us.’

Just because the focus will be on inexperienced players doesn’t mean Navy won’t receive veterans’ focus, though. Last year, Syracuse became caught up in big-time match-ups, leaving SU vulnerable and causing upsets against Hofstra, Massachusetts and Rutgers.

And even DiPietro, then a nervous, first-year Orangeman, knew that wasn’t SU’s way.

‘That’s what we did wrong last year,’ he said. ‘We looked at certain games and didn’t work hard enough in others, like Rutgers and Hofstra. We’re not doing that again. I don’t care who we’re playing in two weeks. It’s Navy, then Maryland, then Army. I don’t care about down the road.’

Published on February 12, 2004 at 12:00 pm