Brian Megill was supposed to be on the other end of the sidelines last Friday afternoon. He was supposed to follow the path of his brother Ray, a three-year starter as a defenseman on the Maryland lacrosse team from 2004-07.

‘Oh yeah, there was huge pressure to go to Maryland,’ Megill said. ‘Ever since seventh grade, it was like, ‘Oh, this kid’s going to go to Maryland, his younger brother’s going to go to Maryland.”

Somewhere along the way, though, he veered off the course his older brother created. He wanted to carve his own path, and he found himself at Syracuse. And there he was on Friday afternoon on the other side, starting in SU’s final scrimmage against so many friends, a key cog in the Orange’s first defensive line as a freshman.

As the Orange gears up for its opening contest against Denver, Friday at 7 p.m. inside the Carrier Dome, it’s still unclear whether Megill will get to start for the second game in a row. But a few things are clear – he has separated himself from the pack of other freshman defenders, caused increased competition for the third-starting defensive spot and already has started carving out a name for himself.

‘We think he’s been one of the standouts in the freshman class,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘He’s a very good defenseman, and he’s going to get better.’

With so much family history at Maryland, it’s likely that Megill could have challenged for a starting spot right away. Ray Megill was a three-time All-American defender for the Terrapins, leading them to the final four during his junior season.

Instead, Brian chose Syracuse. Not only was he coming into a situation where two of the team’s starting defenders were returning (John Lade and Matt Tierney), but he would also be facing stiff competition from veterans and other freshmen.

Joe Fazio came in as the second-ranked defenseman in Inside Lacrosse’s class of 2009. Kyle Carey was ranked ninth. Meanwhile, Megill came in at 21st in the defensive rankings.

But from fall practice, Megill stood out to his defensive teammates and separated himself from the rest of the freshman defenders.

‘I just saw the way he played, the heart he had, the hustle,’ SU junior defenseman Lade said. ‘It was easily above the rest of the pack.’

He was also noticed immediately by the leader of the SU defense, junior goaltender John Galloway. Galloway watched the new kid come out and surprise many on the SU roster, immediately going up against guys like Cody Jamieson, Stephen Keogh and Chris Daniello.

‘The way he came out, he didn’t act like a freshman,’ Galloway said. ‘He was willing to challenge the upperclassmen. He knew he wanted a role on this team this year. He wasn’t looking to redshirt, he wasn’t looking to ride the bench. He was looking to be a part of this team.’

Of course, no one knows better than Galloway what it’s like to be thrown into the fire at Syracuse immediately.

He came into Syracuse a product of much more hype than Megill but faced the same challenges in fighting for a starting spot. Competing with incumbent Pete Coluccini back in his freshman season in 2008, Galloway earned the starting spot before the season opener, a role he has yet to relinquish.

‘In order to succeed that young,’ Galloway said, ‘you have to be able to listen to the upperclassmen and, at the same time, still demand excellence from them.

‘That’s what Brian did. I think he challenged attack like Keogh and Cody Jamieson right from the bat. He wasn’t afraid to check them or tell them to go harder. That’s something you look for in a young guy who’s ready to step up.’

Megill is already being compared to SU greats of past seasons. When it’s all said and done, Galloway thinks Megill could go down as one of the best defensemen to come through the Syracuse in recent memory.

But Megill doesn’t want to follow in anyone’s path, not even his brother’s. He wants to be the first Brian Megill.

‘It started to get to a point where it’s like, ‘You’re going to follow in your brother’s footsteps,” Megill said. ‘I don’t want that. I’m making my own footsteps here at Syracuse.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on February 16, 2010 at 12:00 pm