As the Syracuse and Loyola women’s lacrosse teams jogged off the Carrier Dome field and into the locker rooms at halftime on Saturday, Greyhound Cindy Nicolaus instead took off her sweatpants and ran onto the field.

She put on her mask, picked up a stick and tried to deflect any shot the Loyola assistant coaches sent her way. It’s what Nicolaus has done for Loyola in every game this season – warming up to take the place of starting goalie Kim Lawton. No matter the score, Nicolaus always takes the net during the second half.

Though Loyola lost to the Orange, 11-9, on Saturday, the goalie change succeeded in confusing Syracuse for the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Greyhounds forced SU to adjust by employing a system they’ve used as long as Loyola women’s lacrosse has existed.

‘It’s an advantage for us,’ said Loyola head coach Kerri O’Day. ‘The opposing team’s focusing on one goalie, then all of a sudden, they only have 30 minutes to adjust to a new goalkeeper.’

Syracuse had no problem adjusting to Lawton at the beginning of the game. It scored five goals in the first 12 minutes before going cold for the final 18 minutes of the first half. Lawton’s seven saves gave the Greyhounds momentum heading into halftime.

Nicolaus posed a problem for the Orange at first, but with each scoring chance SU inched closer to solving her.

‘The other team at halftime, if they talk about how to shoot one goalie or where the advantage is, then they have to change everything in the next half because it’s a different goalie,’ Lawton said. ‘I really didn’t notice any difference because they shot really well (Saturday).’

Nicolaus saved four shots and allowed six goals.

Even though the goalie system didn’t work as well as Loyola hoped against Syracuse, the Greyhounds weren’t about to abandon a tradition because of one loss. Loyola even recruits top goalies each year so it can continue using a multi-goalie system.

‘They’re both so talented,’ O’Day said. ‘They’ve both ranked in the top five in save percentage and goals against. How could one of them not play?’

Win, Lose or Draw

Syracuse senior Courtney Palladino once again helped the Orange to victory, but it wasn’t with goals or assists.

Palladino’s five draw controls led SU to a 14-8 advantage in the category. The Orange’s ability to win draw controls consistently in the second half allowed it to string together multiple-goal stretches and snuff out any chance Loyola had to comeback.

The runs should be no surprise since the Orange had the ball more than its opponent. The draw control advantage also led SU to outshoot the Greyhounds, 29-25.

‘The difference in the draw controls and the turnovers really made the difference in the game today,’ O’Day said. ‘They had about 11 more possessions than us.’

This and that

Syracuse chancellor Nancy Cantor made a brief appearance in the Carrier Dome stands during the second half … Stephanie Walker, the daughter of Syracuse swimming coach Lou Walker, is a senior midfielder for Loyola. She did not play against SU … For the third consecutive year, Syracuse has a six-game winning streak heading into the second week of April. The Orange failed to make the NCAA Tournament last year, but made it in 2003.

Published on April 9, 2005 at 12:00 pm