Don’t put too much stock in this weekend’s men’s lacrosse game between No. 1 Johns Hopkins and No. 3 Syracuse. Sure, the winner claims bragging rights, at least until these teams meet again in the Final Four. But, win, lose or draw, treat the game like a scrimmage. Because while 10,000 fans and viewers at home will live and die by each goal, the end result doesn’t matter that much.

Saturday’s game between Syracuse and Johns Hopkins at 1 p.m. is a learning experience for both teams. The Orangemen will travel to Baltimore today in preparation for what their fans might consider SU’s biggest game of season. But the real preparation comes during the game and after, when Syracuse has a chance to gauge if its 3-0 record really holds weight.

‘If you win this game,’ said Dave Pietramala, head coach of JHU, ‘it’s a feather in your cap. You have a good win. If you lose it, it’s really not the end of the world.’

On the contrary, it will seem like just the beginning. After Saturday, there are nine remaining games for Syracuse, enough time to work out the lessons learned from playing the top team in the country.

But the Orangemen (3-0) have already taken one humbling lesson at the hands of the Blue Jays. They lost, 19-8, in the semifinals of last year’s Final Four in Baltimore. In front of 37,000 fans at Ravens Stadium, Hopkins reeled off a 14-1 run in the final 30 minutes of the game. It was an embarrassing blow to the Orangemen. They say they’ve recovered. They also say they’re ready for another shot.

‘Hopefully, us being a year older, a year wiser, we’ll learn from our mistakes,’ said SU head coach John Desko.

Most of SU’s mistakes last year came on the defensive end. Then, the Orangemen weren’t quick enough to keep up with Hopkins’ debilitating offense. Syracuse goalie Jay Pfeifer said SU’s help-defense wasn’t good enough against JHU (4-0) last year, but this year it should be. They’ve been working on it all week.

But back are the major players from last year’s debacle. Hopkins returns Tewaaraton Trophy candidates Kyle Barrie and Kyle Harrison. Syracuse, too, returns a trophy candidate of its own in Michael Powell. SU’s Brian Crockett leads the country in goals per game with over four per contest.

With everyone back, what makes Syracuse think it won’t suffer another blowout?

‘We’re going to be a lot more prepared this time,’ Pfeifer said. ‘We knew the mistakes we made last time. We need to try to get revenge.’

But like Pietramala said, a loss for either team wouldn’t mean the end of the world. There’s no shame in losing to a team that’s annually ranked in the top three.

‘That’s the beauty of playing a team like Hopkins,’ Desko said. ‘Losing to a top three team is not a bad thing. We could lose to Hopkins and end up No. 2 or No. 3. If Hopkins were to lose, how far could they drop? The furthest they could drop is No. 3.’

Said Pietramala: ‘This game, the records go out the window. There’s a great tradition between these teams that this is a hard-fought lacrosse game. This is the kind of game that helps you – win or lose – prepare for the playoffs.’

Published on March 18, 2004 at 12:00 pm