Three losses, too many turnovers and — gasp! — a No. 7 ranking? The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team is trembling with apprehension. Right?

“I’m not getting anyone worried,” SU defenseman Sol Bliss said yesterday. “There’s no reason to be worried, really. It’s nothing we can’t fix.”

But Syracuse, which plays at Hofstra tonight at 7, seems to have more reason to worry than it’s accustomed to this time of year. With three regular-season games remaining, the Orangemen have a few bolts to tighten in their usually well-oiled machine.

Most obvious, turnovers have plagued the Orangemen since early in the season. Passes that Syracuse (7-3) usually completes crisply have sailed high or been mishandled. SU midfielders have missed open attackers downfield.

“It’s going to come, it’s going to get there,” Bliss reassured. “There’s no way it’s not going to.”

Defensively, appraisals of communication have wavered throughout the season, ranging from good to yesterday’s “could be a little better.” And SU head coach John Desko said the defense surrenders a few goals it shouldn’t.

But consider that last season the Orangemen’s defense — which included two now-departed All-American starters — averaged 9.7 goals allowed through 10 games. This year, SU gives up 9.88, only a slight increase.

So more so than defense, Desko said Syracuse needs to scale back on penalties. Though the Orangemen have allowed opponents to score on just 28 percent of their man-down chances, they’ve averaged six penalties.

“We’re giving the other team too many opportunities there,” Desko said. “Our percentages are excellent on man-down, but we need to eliminate those teams’ man-ups. If they’re out there in man-up situations, that means we don’t have the ball.”

Said Bliss: “We’re playing too much defense. We need to get the offense back on the other side of the field, so they can have more time to mesh together.”

Because of losses and miscues, the Orangemen’s approach has changed. Coaches upped the intensity of practice drills, Bliss said, as SU tries to strike a balance between complacency and neuroticism.

“It’s more business-like,” SU attacker Liam Banks said. “We finally realized we’re not invincible. If we don’t come out and play well, we can lose.”

Any losses now will hurt the Orangemen’s NCAA Tournament seeding. Syracuse is the only top-eight team with more than two losses. Three teams — No. 1 Johns Hopkins, No. 3 Georgetown and No. 6 Massachusetts — have less than two.

Syracuse can still make up ground, though, with games against Massachusetts (April 26) and Georgetown (May 3) still ahead.

“We have to win every game to get in the championship,” Bliss said. “It doesn’t matter to me what the seedings are.”

Bliss delivered a similar message to the Orangemen during a pre-practice speech Sunday, following SU’s 12-11 overtime loss to Rutgers on Saturday.

“We were depressed Saturday,” Bliss said. “Sunday we came into practice, and I said, ‘We’ve got to forget about it. We can lose however many games, but as long as we win in the tournament, it’s fine.’ ”

Tonight, SU faces a Hofstra team (6-4, 2-1 Colonial Athletic Association) that it has beaten five consecutive times, with its last loss to the Pride coming in 1975.

Seniors Joe Kostolansky (20 goals, 16 assists) and Jim Femminella (24 goals, five assists) lead the Pride’s offense. Hofstra frequently inverts its offense, which may force SU into a zone defense at times, but the Pride averages only 9.8 goals.

After the game, Syracuse will take the weekend off.

“We’ve got a nice break,” Bliss said. “Everyone can go home, get out of Syracuse for a bit and forget about lacrosse.”

Published on April 16, 2003 at 12:00 pm