In the past, he usually appeared in flashes.

He was the spark for offensive rushes, the lanky midfielder digging out loose balls, the forgotten man in the offensive zone sneaking a shot on net. Matt Abbott did most everything for the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team, but most of it didn’t show up in the score sheet.

That will change.

‘Yeah, it’s a little bit different this year,’ Abbott said. ‘It takes a little bit of getting used to.’

This year, the player who does it all will be asked to do more, say coaches, teammates and Abbott himself. Abbott steadies the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team, teammates say. He’s a third-generation Orange who grew up a few blocks from the Carrier Dome, daydreaming about days like this – days as captain on the defending national champions and as a potential Tewaaraton Trophy candidate.

The change for Abbott comes from changes in the team he joined three years ago. Gone are leading midfield scorers Steven Brooks and Brendan Loftus. Gone too are defensive midfielders John Carrozza and Steve Babbles.

Abbott understands he must help replace all four. He must score more. He must slide better defensively. The 73 ground balls he scooped last year will not be enough this season. Neither will the 13 goals he scored in 2008.

‘There’s definitely some points that need to be picked up,’ Abbott said. ‘The midfield’s going to have to take a good portion of that if we’re going to be successful this year.’

In the modern game of specialized lacrosse – where players usually only serve one purpose -Matt Abbott is special. Abbott is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior and preseason All-American midfielder who does it all. He plays offense and he plays defense. He plays on the man-down unit and on the man-up unit. He plays wing on faceoffs. He can do so because of a grab bag of skills he developed at nearby Nottingham High School: sprinter’s speed, dime-stop movement, a stable comportment and an underrated shot.

‘I think people don’t give him enough credit for how good of a shooter he is,’ said fifth-year senior and Georgetown transfer Scott Kahoe. ‘He’s real good, I think. He’s one of the best on the team.

‘It’s just one of these things, that he does so many things that once he gets to the offensive end, it’s almost like that’s kind of his rest period.’

This year, Abbott will get more attention than ever. The Orange’s 2005 recruiting class was heralded, but not because of Abbott’s arrival. Inside Lacrosse magazine slapped three Orange recruits on its cover that year. Abbott wasn’t one of them.

These days, he shrugs it off. ‘I didn’t deserve that attention at that point in time,’ he said.

But once at SU, the skinny kid from down the street started making plays. He played in every game as a freshman, then in every game as a sophomore. Last year, he starred in a do-it-all role on a team loaded with talent and thirsting for respect.

His fellow midfielders laud Abbott’s poise on the field. Mistakes are rare. ‘He just doesn’t get rattled at all,’ sophomore Jovan Miller said. ‘I’ve never seen a time where he looks like he’s tentative out there. He’s confident in what he’s doing.’

That comes from a prep pedigree packed with experience in all parts of the game. Abbott played at Nottingham High, where lacrosse isn’t exactly booming. The school is smaller than regional powers like West Genesee and Fayetteville-Manlius. Fewer kids play. Those who do, learn to do more.

At Nottingham, Abbott joined the varsity in eighth grade, and captained for three years. He faced off for the Bulldogs, and then never left the field. When he needed a breather, head coach Chris Constantino shuffled him down to attack. Anything the team needed, Abbott could offer. One Saturday, the guys hung around after practice, just messing around. Constantino remembers Abbott hopping in goal. The result, recalls Constantino: ‘He was probably our best goalie, to be honest with you.’

Constantino knew early on that Abbott was special. After all, Abbott’s family groomed him for this game. ‘You got to understand,’ Constantino said, ‘Matt’s coming from instruction from the cradle.’

Abbott grew up the youngest son of a lacrosse dynasty. His grandfather, Larry, played for Syracuse in the ’50s. His father, Tom, played with Syracuse head coach John Desko and assistant coach Kevin Donahue. Schools like Johns Hopkins and Georgetown recruited Matt. But once Syracuse came calling, Abbott signed up. He made one campus visit – a short drive down Euclid Avenue. He finally left home last year, moving four blocks away to a house off-campus.

He still goes home a few times a week to eat or do laundry. He still does his homework – he’s a regular on the athletic director’s honor roll. He still crops his hair tight. He’s been dating the same girl for seven years.

On the field, he still does what he always has, splintering his focus to concentrate on as many things as possible. ‘It’s just what I’m used to,’ Abbott said. ‘I’ve always played that way. I guess it’s my comfort level.’

Which, of course, only makes this year tougher. Now, he must rise above his comfort level. He must become the player he was one golden New England afternoon last spring, when he announced himself to the lacrosse world at the final four. He scored three goals in the national semifinal victory over Virginia in double overtime, and the Orange rallied from a five-goal deficit.

In the press conference afterward, someone asked, ‘Matt, was that the best game you’ve ever played?’ The room tittered. Sure, he had scooped a lot of ground balls and racked up plenty of playing time during the season, but most of these folks didn’t know he could do this.

A grin flickered across Abbott’s face. He leaned forward and said, ‘Pretty close, I guess.’

Two days later, the Orange won its 10th national title.

Now, the hard part starts.

A few weeks ago, Matt Abbott walked into the Carrier Dome for practice. He stood in a concrete pathway leading to the field and started tossing a ball off the wall. Reporters pounced just moments after he first lifted his stick. Questions came about the preseason. Someone asked if Abbott’s role would change this year.

‘Ah, no,’ Abbott said. ‘I think it’ll be more of the same stuff I did last year. Offense and defense. Wing on the faceoffs. Rides and clears, all that.’

Just like last year. Only more so.

ramccull@syr.edu

Published on February 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm