There were moments Wednesday night when Syracuse women’s lacrosse goalkeeper Carla Gigon looked like football running back Damien Rhodes sprinting down the Carrier Dome sideline.

Early in the second half, Gigon picked up a loose ball in her crease at the 5-yard line and took off running.

Gigon juked left, weaved right and found a hole in the Notre Dame defense.

Sixty yards and two oxygen-depleted lungs later, Gigon found a teammate at Notre Dame’s 35-yard line and retreated back to her cage.

‘I’m like ‘Oh my God, what is she doing there?’ ” Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller said.

Gigon’s actions in SU’s 9-6 win over the Irish stemmed more from necessity than perfect execution. Often, when she makes a save but can’t handle the rebound, Gigon will sprint downfield instead of forcing the ball to a teammate.

‘Obviously, Lisa Miller does not make a plan for me to run down the field,’ Gigon, a senior, said. ‘I’m not exactly the quickest kid.’

‘She’s so active and so athletic, we’ve been fortunate,’ Miller said. ‘She’s athletic enough to dodge and get out of trouble.’

Usually, Gigon tries to run free of defenders until she can find an open teammate. Wednesday, two Notre Dame defenders rode her all the way down the sideline, taking away all of Gigon’s passing options. Hurling a lacrosse ball 30 yards out of a goalie’s stick isn’t as easy as a lateral to the halfback in football.

It seemed that as soon as Gigon crossed midfield, her eyes lit up at the chance to take it to the end zone. Was she after her first point in her four-year career at Syracuse?

‘I can’t score a goal,’ Gigon said. ‘But I was looking for the assist.”

Then she added, “Nah, I’m just kidding.’

Because of her goaltending, she didn’t need to score. Gigon made 11 saves, holding the Irish to six goals despite Notre Dame unleashing nine free-position shots — lacrosse’s equivalent to the penalty shot in hockey.

There was one player Wednesday that did have Gigon’s number. Notre Dame’s Danielle Shearer scored three goals — all off free-position shots.

‘I’m usually pretty good at them,’ Gigon said. ‘She was just picking the corners. (Shearer) definitely had a field day with me today.’

In the first half, Gigon recorded her 400th career save after entering the game with 398. She remains in first place on the Syracuse all-time saves list — 124 more saves than Clo Ewing, who occupies second place.

After the game, Miller said she was pleased with Gigon’s effort because she didn’t turn the ball over. However, Gigon’s Rhodes-like scampers did cause Miller’s heart to palpitate.

‘We encourage her to do things like that,’ Miller said. ‘Of course if she turned the ball over and they scored, I’d probably be yapping.’

Published on April 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm