The labels don’t mean much to John Desko.

No, the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team’s midfield trio of Steven Brooks, Brendan Loftus and Matt Abbott isn’t the ‘first’ line. It is the ‘blue’ line.

And no, the freshly minted grouping of Dan Hardy, Pat Perritt and Jovan Miller isn’t the second unit. It is ‘orange.’

There’s no apparent need for depth-chart hierarchy for the head coach of the No. 2 Orange. The team’s 13-8 win Saturday – and the seven goals from Hardy, Perritt and Miller – over No. 18 Loyola (Md.) only reinforced that.

‘It’s really a matter of who’s playing well that game,’ Desko said. ‘And fortunately, we have the numbers there to be able to say, ‘Ok, jeez, you know, it’s Pat and Danny today. We’re going to go with them more in this game, than we do with the other midfield (line).”

The line jumpstarted a game stuck in the quicksand of Loyola’s muck-and-grind style and led the Orange in front of 4,570 fans at the Carrier Dome. It was the team’s third win in seven days, fifth in a row and the third time this season that Syracuse (7-1) defeated a team it lost to last year.

And with No. 1 Virginia’s loss to Maryland Saturday, there’s the chance that today, Syracuse could be ranked at the top of the polls for the first time since 2004.

Hardy and Perritt, juniors and roommates on South Campus, each had a hat trick. Their new freshman partner Miller added a goal of his own and assisted on a goal for both his line mates.

It was their fourth game together, after Desko shook up the lines before a 14-13 overtime win against Johns Hopkins on March 15.

‘I think we’re really starting to mesh,’ Perritt said. ‘I mean, the first game, it’s a little tough when we’re playing together. As every game goes on, we begin to feel more and more comfortable with each other.’

Cooper MacDonnell and his four goals kept things close for the Greyhounds (4-4), but Miller’s goal in the third gave the Orange a 6-5 lead, one that would only widen. The midfield trio made sure of that.

Senior attack Mike Leveille did what he does: three goals and two assists. But that’s expected. Who will step up in the midfield is less of a constant?

Against Georgetown, it was Loftus dropping four goals in the double overtime win. Against Johns Hopkins, fifth-year senior Brooks scored four as well, including the winner in OT.

On Saturday, it was Hardy, Perritt and Miller’s turn.

Down 2-0 at the end of the first quarter, each player found the back of the net to help Syracuse take a 6-5 lead midway through the third. They slogged through the grind of Loyola’s slow-paced, long-winded offensive approach, which made each offensive possession precious.

Then, with the lead trimmed to 10-8, Perritt scored twice and Hardy once to put the game too far away for the Greyhounds to grasp. The first score was set up by a gorgeous pass from Miller that slipped through two defenders. Perritt, sneaky and jitterbug quick, finished the play with ease, something he had struggled to do earlier this year.

Perritt scored more goals Saturday (3) than he had in SU’s first seven games (2).

‘The shots were dropping today…and I look forward to the rest of the season,’ Perritt said. ‘Hopefully I continue to improve.’

Hardy used his heavy shot and 6-foot-4 size to pick up his three goals, including a blast from 15 yards out in the first half. His size makes him a target for opposing coaches – he usually draws a long-pole midfielder to defend him, an alignment that frees up high-energy players like Perritt and Miller.

‘I just want to add energy to this team,’ Miller said. ‘Regardless of it’s a ground ball or anything like that.’

As the feeling out process draws to a close, that only means more depth for Desko – and less need for labels.

‘We’re fortunate to have some returning midfielders that can keep us five or six deep,’ Desko said. ‘And then we’ve got some younger guys that are going right along and getting more experience every game.’

ramccull@syr.edu

Published on March 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm