It’s an alarming trend that has cost the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team several times this season and nearly doomed it on several other occasions.

No one can pinpoint exactly why it’s happening, but several times the Orange has taken a sizeable first-half lead only to blow it because of sloppy play and turnovers.

In recent wins over Hobart and Brown, SU overcame the sloppy periods and blown leads to eek out close wins. In March against Johns Hopkins, the Orange blew a six-goal lead en route to an overtime loss. Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome the same sloppiness plagued SU, and the Orange couldn’t recover.

No. 8 Cornell overcame multiple three-goal, first-half deficits to defeat No. 6 Syracuse, 16-14, on Tuesday night in front of 4,027. The loss ended SU’s four-game win streak and ruined yet another chance for the Orange to defeat a top 10 opponent.

‘We played a little like we had in the past,’ said SU head coach John Desko. ‘We got caught going up and down the field and turned the ball over.’

Syracuse’s sloppiness was only compounded by the spectacular performance of Joe Boulukos, a junior midfielder for Cornell. While SU’s offense came out, Boulukos scored four first-half goals, keeping the Big Red in the game. He finished with a career-high seven goals and eight points.

Even with Syracuse (5-4) falling into its season-long trend, it remained in the game until the end. The Orange overcame a three-goal deficit of its own, tying the game at 12 with 14:16 remaining. The teams then exchanged goals, leaving the scored tied at 14 with 4:10 remaining.

Then, of course, a turnover burned Syracuse. SU’s Greg Rommel lost the ball near the Cornell cage and CU’s Kevin Nee scored the go-ahead goal for Cornell (6-2) with 2:30 remaining. About a minute later, Boulukos added the dagger, his seventh.

‘In the last five minutes it was a matter of mentality,’ said Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni. ‘We probably still feel Syracuse is the more talented team. In the last part of the game, I felt the last person to have the ball was going to win.’

Luckily for Tambroni, the Big Red held the game’s last two meaningful possessions and Cornell earned its first win in the Carrier Dome since 1987.

Early on, though, it looked like Syracuse may run away with its second straight dominating win. Midfielders Jarett Park (one goal, three assists) and Steven Brooks (three goals, one assist) controlled tempo early. Brooks scored two first-quarter goals and Park had a goal and two assists.

In the second quarter, the momentum began to change. SU still maintained its lead until the final seconds when Cornell struck for two goals in the period’s last 11 seconds.

‘The momentum started to slip all through the second period,’ Desko said. ‘(The end of the period) certainly didn’t help.’

In the second half, the turnovers only continued with Boulukos’ scoring spree. SU won the opening face-off, but quickly lost the ball. Cornell scored four of the period’s first five goals, taking a 12-9 lead with 8:08 remaining.

But after tying the game early in the fourth quarter, the turnovers continued. Cornell never allowed SU to assert control like it had in the first period. With a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, Brooks attempted to pass to a wide-open Brian Crockett, but the ball sailed away.

A few minutes later, with SU trailing by a goal, Crockett had the ball knocked from his stick. Freshman Mike Leveille’s three second-half goals couldn’t even save SU. Leveille led the Orange with four goals.

‘The offense could’ve helped ourselves by getting rid of the turnovers,’ Desko said.

And the turnovers only allowed Boulukos more possessions. Usually reliable goalie Jay Pfeifer struggled to stop him, though the defense gave little help. Many of Boulukos’ shots were uncontested.

With Syracuse’s defense constantly sliding to Boulukos, other scoring options opened. Three other Cornell players scored at least two goals, including four from Derek Haswell.

Like a few times earlier this season, Pfeifer said he failed to see the ball clearly. Sixteen is the largest number of goals he has surrendered since a 17-5 loss to Johns Hopkins last March.

‘It’s tough, but it happens every year,’ Pfeifer said. ‘It’s about how we respond to this.’

Published on April 12, 2005 at 12:00 pm