As the play unfolded from Joel White’s eyes, the Syracuse midfielder saw a wide-open Travis Reed in front of the goal with no one left to beat. Syracuse’s men’s lacrosse team was about to let up a momentous goal to end the first half.

But then he saw his teammate, SU goalie John Galloway, leap back into the net, making a save for the highlight reels and preserving a three-goal advantage headed into halftime.

White was astounded. There was no way Galloway just did that.

‘I just saw a big scrum and him running back, diving all the way across,’ White said. ‘That’s just how he plays. He’s all about heart.’

Galloway made sure his unit’s first-half effort wouldn’t go to waste. He made two spectacular saves in the first half’s final seconds, and he and the first-team defense held Maryland to just one goal in the first half, propelling the Orange to a 10-7 victory over the Terrapins in SU’s final scrimmage Friday afternoon.

The Orange defense frustrated Maryland all half, closing quickly and forcing Maryland into turnovers and bad shots.

‘I thought the defense was a real bright spot for us,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘We’ve been stingy there.’

Galloway, the third-year starter in net, was the focal point of that defense on Friday, opening the game in the early first quarter with a nice save on a behind-the-back shot from Maryland’s Will Yeatman. Then he put on a show at the end of the first half.

First, with SU up 4-1 near the end of the half, he made a save on a point-blank shot from Maryland’s Grant Catalino. He went after the loose ball, leaving the net briefly vacated. But a Maryland player picked the ball up and fired to teammate Travis Reed, who was staring at an empty net.

It would be an easy goal. The Terrapins would draw within two – 4-2, Syracuse.

But Galloway sprung back, dove and made a sprawling save, preserving the three-goal Orange lead and sending the team into the locker room with momentum.

‘I just thought I was going to be able to get a loose ball,’ Galloway said. ‘I was fortunate enough to get back up there. It’s just one of those plays you get lucky on.’

Galloway wasn’t the only standout performer on the defensive side, though. Freshman Brian Megill started as the third defender, and he and returning starters John Lade and Matt Tierney combined to give the Maryland attack fits all day.

They closed on the Terrapin with the ball quickly. They poke-checked him, whoever it was, furiously. And they rode him until he was forced into a bad pass or they were able to knock the ball out of his stick.

In all, Maryland had 16 turnovers on the day as a result of SU’s suffocating defensive play.

‘Our defense was playing great,’ said Megill, one of three defensemen – along with Brandon Conlin and Tom Guadagnolo – battling for the third starting spot. ‘We were communicating a lot, and we looked fast out there.’

Even when the offense was struggling in the first half – the Orange had 11 shots before recording a goal – the defense was there to help.

When the defense forced turnovers, it led to fast-break opportunities for SU’s speedy midfielders like Jeremy Thompson and Jovan Miller.

On one Syracuse goal, Lade forced a turnover that quickly led to a scoring chance. After Lade got the ball to freshman midfielder JoJo Marasco, he found Ryan Barber in front of the net for the Orange’s second goal of the game.

‘That’s our game,’ White said. ‘That’s Syracuse lacrosse. That’s always going to be one of the things we try to do. Transition is huge for us.’

And leading that transition attack is one of the nation’s best clearing goalies in Galloway. When he wasn’t making diving saves, he was clearing the ball and creating scoring opportunities for the Orange.

After Galloway had let in his first goal of the game with 1:07 remaining in the second quarter, he picked up a ground ball and fired all the way down to attackman Chris Daniello, who found the net soon after.

The SU defense defended the ball to a ‘T’ from the opening faceoff. When it lapsed, Galloway was there. And it created scoring chances for its offense in the transition attack.

A complete day for Galloway and his unit.

‘I think that John Galloway did a terrific job today clearing the ball and creating some offense through our clearing situation,’ Desko said. ‘Which we need to do. We need to find different ways to put points up on the board.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on February 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm