Lacrosse Guide 2019

t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r ac u s e , n e w yor k

PROVING GROUND LACROSSE GUIDE 2019

PATH TO ACCEPTANCE

LOCAL ROOTS

FAMILY MATTERS

Tucker Dordevic had to acknowledge his learning differences in grade school en route to becoming Syracuse’s top midfielder.

Syracuse captain Austin Fusco cultivated his skills in Yorktown, where his family name and lacrosse have been linked.

Emily Hawryschuk benefited from her family’s support system and is now Syracuse’s leading goal-scorer.

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Dear reader, Welcome to The Daily Orange’s Lacrosse Guide 2019: Immerse yourself with all the preseason reading you need to prepare you for Syracuse men’s and women’s lacrosse this year. Both teams return many of the players at the core of their programs and will use this season as a proving ground to regain their position near the top of the college lacrosse scene. Among the top options on their teams, Tucker Dordevic and Emily Hawryshuk look to build on the promise they displayed a season ago. Sam Swart and Austin Fusco make their mark on different side of the field, but they were both molded by high-pressure athletic pasts. Drake Porter and Kerry Defliese are set to anchor their defenses after mounting a path to SU through their various influences. As the Orange look to break their respective NCAA championship droughts, look back at the history of success of both programs. Lastly , get ready for the first bout at the X with our beat writers in the D.O. Sportscast. Stay with us all season long for our comprehensive coverage.

See you out there.

Thanks for reading, Michael McCleary, Sports Editor

Cover photo by Max Freund | Staff Photographer

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LEARNING HIS WAY How Tucker Dordevic came to work with his Dyslexia, ADHD

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By Josh Schafer

senior staff writer

ucker Dordevic sat upstairs confused because his tutor had left without having taught him anything. His mother, Kathi, didn’t tell her son why his teacher quit on him, but Dordevic would come to understand. The third grader’s tutor was one of many educators who didn’t know how to help him. The tutor wanted an easy fix and suggested meditation because Kathi’s son was “unteachable.” “‘He’s not going to learn,’” Kathi remembered hearing through her own tears. “‘Just give up.’”

Throughout Dordevic’s entire academic career, he’s battled attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia, which for Dordevic can mean reading letters or numbers out of order. As a sophomore midfielder on No. 10 Syracuse, Dordevic doesn’t seek regular academic assistance anymore, but it hasn’t always been that way.

At 3 years old, he broke his leg jumping off his brother’s bed and chose to crawl across the floor rather than sit in his wheelchair. A few years later, at about 7 or 8, he played wall ball in his room, leaving holes that weren’t filled until he left for college.

Around that time, as other students read in the first and second grade, Dordevic struggled to read at all. Dordevic was identified with Dyslexia, a learning disability that effects one out of the every five students, according to the Dyslexia Center of Utah. It was the first indicator of a daunting realization: If Dordevic wanted to succeed in school, he’d need different learning methods than the other students.

“Instead of really trying to help me to learn the way I learn, everybody kind of wanted to mainstream (me) into helping me learn,” Dordevic said. “Well, not helping me learn, but trying to teach me the way to learn the way I couldn’t … it just never clicked.”

The needs of learning challenged students aren’t met in many public schools, a 2017 American Public Media report found. In early elementary school, Dordevic took the highest prescription of Adderall, the prescription drug used to treat ADHD, and he remembered feeling like a “zombie.” He never felt that the medication helped him, it just prevented his teachers from being distracted, he said.

Dordevic fell behind in reading. He failed to memorize math facts. Teachers sent him to the resource room. For a student that just wanted to fit in, it pushed him further away.

So, Dordevic rebelled.

On Scantron multiple choice tests, he filled them out carelessly. A, B, C or D — the choices themselves didn’t matter as long as he finished the tests on pace with his classmates to show he was just as smart. His grades suffered.

Kathi and Dean, Tucker’s father, tried a “billion tutors,” Kathi said. They forced him into summer school, repeatedly trying new programs. Everyone always had a new strategy. He traced three-letter words like “dog” — which sometimes became “God” in his head — with his finger in the air. As Dordevic drew words, he thought about his friends, probably playing outside. He hated school.

“These kids initially think they’re stupid,” Dean said. “Or, they think there is something wrong with them. And so it becomes a cascading problem where they lose their selfconfidence or they lose their self-esteem.”

In the summer after seventh grade, Dordevic attended a program at Edison High School in Oregon. For the first time, he and Kathi felt he was benefiting from individual attention. The faculty forced the students to take responsibility, organize themselves and customize a learning plan that suited their needs.

Kathi, a self-described helicopter parent, felt like she could step back.

Named after Thomas Edison — the famous inventor who struggled with dyslexia — the high school emphasizes a one-to-nine studentto-teacher ratio, which Dordevic’s brother had taken advantage of for math classes. The school shared a campus with Jesuit, the school his brothers attended, and provided the option for students to take classes at both while benefiting from conjoined extracurriculars.

An English teacher had Dordevic drop down for push-ups if he was antsy, while others had fidget tools. Some classes provided a pedal attached to the desk so students could pump their leg while taking notes. If there wasn’t a pedal, he went to the office where, the school’s then-assistant director Jason Wold

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TUCKER DORDEVIC started every game for Syracuse in 2018 as a freshman and finished the season with 15 goals, fifth among SU attackers. He tallied 20 points, adding five assists to his goal total. josh shub-seltzer staff photographer

said, most of the time he just needed a break to refocus. Sometimes, a five-minute walk sufficed. When Dordevic returned, notes were available so he wouldn’t fall behind.

In choosing Edison his freshman year, Dordevic received individualized attention.

The faculty stressed self-preparation and allowed for oral multiple choice exams, and additional time during tests, while he played for a top lacrosse program in the state. For once, it was the school Dordevic wanted.

“Tucker, growing up, had a lot of experiences with teachers and tutors that were not positive,” Wold said. “So, we had to work on forming that relationship with him, understanding that we were there to help support him.”

While the new accommodations helped occupy Dordevic’s hyperactive mind, his dyslexia provided a more direct challenge. He always struggled to read. Dordevic used a final period of the day reserved for extra help to stay up with school work. In a government class, he studied more to retake tests. In math, he completed extra problems from that day’s lesson.

At Edison, the accommodations didn’t make Dordevic feel isolated. He embraced the work and steadily improved.

With a few weeks remaining in the first semester of his freshman year, Dordevic talked with a lacrosse coach about his future. He doesn’t remember which coach, but the premise of the conversation — school needed to be as important as lacrosse — sparked a change.

At that point, Division-I lacrosse was achievable athletically, but he’d need better grades to qualify for scholarships. He sought the help he once feared. He accepted his differences.

“Before, I’d use my learning differences as a crutch,” he said. “Like, I’m not good at reading.

But then, after that, it was like, I can’t really.”

In 2015, as Edison teacher Colin Livesey explained his geometry class to a room full of students’ parents, Kathi raised her hand.

She figured her son, now a junior, might get distracted and miss information, so she asked if someone would take notes.

“Tucker is our note taker,” Livesey said.

“Tucker? The note taker?” Kathi thought to herself. “That is amazing.”

At Edison, Dordevic found he had to take notes, or he wouldn’t pay attention. It’s a part of what he and his former teachers describe as “his program.” Each student learns differently and requires different needs, and for Dordevic, it meant note-taking, studying well in advance and a consistent, regimented routine, which he continues at Syracuse.

In the fall of his senior year, Dordevic spoke to a room of several hundred people at a fundraiser for Edison.

Dordevic joked about the size crowd, about 10 times what he expected. He smiled and

introduced himself and defined his learning differences.

“I’ve struggled with school most of my life,” Dordevic said.

The kid who was once told he’d never learn rattled off an eight-minute speech about his struggles in school and how Edison changed that. He discussed academic challenges, selfadvocating and embracing dyslexia.

It’s a message Dordevic spreads often now.

He opens up about dyslexia and ADHD in interviews. He acknowledges Edison, not Jesuit, as his high school on team rosters.

And when he’s home in Oregon he visits other students with differences like his. Younger kids admire Dordevic because he has learning differences. There isn’t a fix, and he’s come to accept that.

“Just keep trying in school,” Dordevic says.

“You’ll eventually figure out a way that is best for you.” jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44

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photo by max freund staff photographer

FAMILY FIRST Emily Hawryschuk’s success on the field stems from her relationships off it

By Eric Black

senior staff writer

A

fter every lacrosse game, Emily Hawryschuk finds her parents, Nick and Melissa, first. Nick and her go back and forth about her performance — what went well, how Hawryschuk can improve and dissecting specific plays and goals.

If Nick says one of her shots went high, she’ll be prepared with an explanation. Blowout win or close loss, the same conversations follow each Syracuse game. Each time, Nick asks her the same question: “Did you give it everything you got?”

“It’s not about being perfect,” Nick said.

“It’s about giving your best effort every day.

Being the best you when you wake up.”

After tallying 378 points over two different high schools, Hawryschuk’s scored 109 in two seasons at Syracuse, earning First-Team AllACC honors as a sophomore. Tireless training during the summer, winter breaks and time in between practices has led Hawryschuk to be the best she’s ever been, she said. Her dedication to lacrosse and improving in the sport can be traced off the field to the relationships she has with her family, who have instilled in her a “110 percent” mentality.

“My parents continue to coach me up,” Hawryschuk said, “at home it was always, if you put in the work, then you definitely have the chance.”

Nick was responsible for getting his daughter into the sport in the seventh grade. Prior to that, she starred as a soccer goalkeeper but had never held a lacrosse stick.

She practiced alone in her yard with only her stick, a bucket of balls and a goal. By the end of eighth grade, she was called up to her high school’s varsity team.

“When she came home, she’d grab a stick with all her brothers and sister and go out in the front yard in a two-on-two mini lacrosse game,” Nick said, “because she knew that her youngest brother may have had a game coming up … so she wanted to play with him or teach him some shooting, or teach him some cradling, or teach him how to be a better defender.”

Despite being 11 years older than her youngest brother, Mason, Hawryschuk still practices with him today because they play on opposite sides of the field. When she got to college, the two established a rule: Hawryschuk couldn’t go more than three days without coming home to see him.

After living on campus her first two years, Hawryschuk is back living at home. She travels nearly 90 minutes to school every day from her hometown of Victor, and scheduled her first class of the day each day past 11 a.m. to get by.

When she’d have tournaments in high school up and down the east coast, her family would go to watch, no matter the distance. On her brother Joey’s 10th birthday, the family see hawryschuk page 14

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photo by tj shaw staff photographer

SHAPED BY EXPECTATIONS Yorktown made Austin Fusco Syracuse’s “foxhole guy”

By Andrew Graham senior staff writer

T

attooed on Austin Fusco’s right calf is a block “Y,” filled with the American flag.

The ink — which Fusco, his older brother, father and younger sister all share — is inspired by the high school All-American status the four reached at Yorktown (New York) High School.

Fusco’s tattoo represents a hometown and a heritage.

Yorktown’s lacrosse tradition stretches far beyond the Fusco clan, manifesting in the daily lives of Yorktown residents.

“The places that are leaving marks on me,” Fusco said, “I’m putting them on my body.”

Yorktown shaped Fusco’s life. He was born there, but the Fuscos moved to nearby Garrison when he was an infant.

Fusco’s father, Frank, Yorktown class of 1980, lulled him and older brother Frank Jr., or “Frankie,” to sleep with stories of his exploits on the lacrosse field at Yorktown.

Frank, who excelled at what he calls “Neanderthal” lacrosse, was a part of the generation that marked the beginning of Yorktown’s four decades of dominance in the region.

He played a pivotal role in making Yorktown what it is.

So with his return to Yorktown in 2010 came another notch of expectations for his children. It didn’t stem from what Frank was doing then, but what he did 30 years earlier.

In Yorktown, it’s about the history.

“I’m the way I am, all the guys from our town are really the way — you could basically say a lot of them are of the same mold,” Fusco told ESPN’s Paul Carcaterra in 2016.

Fusco, who wore Frank’s No. 13, was expected to live up not only to the mantle of Yorktown but his own family. From the pressure emerged a ferocious player, loyal teammate and an emotional leader. Just like his father, brother and sister, Yorktown made Fusco.

He’s now a redshirt senior for No. 10 Syracuse, a two-time captain and wears No. 11, symbolically worn by a defender who exemplifies the leadership and dedication Fusco does.

The number comes with expectations of its own, like those that have been constant in Fusco’s life.

AUSTIN FUSCO was selected to wear the famed No. 11 jersey for Syracuse for the second-straight year in 2019.

He picked up 25 groundballs as a junior. josh shub-seltzer staff photographer

“I really just try and stay humble with the whole thing and just not take in pressures that let it kind of crumble,” he said.

“Because it can.” ƀɠƀɠƀ sk about Yorktown lacrosse and you’re certain to hear about Charlie Murphy.

A former Princeton lacrosse player, Murphy, or “Mr.

A

Murph,” moved to Yorktown in 1963, funding a lacrosse program that played its first season in 1966.

Murphy opened his home to the town, letting kids play lacrosse in the apple orchard he owned. A net fashioned from iron pipes and fittings sat near the plywoodcovered back of Mr. Murph’s two-car garage for kids to play wall ball on. Quickly, the lacrosse haven became the see fusco page 15

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RING IT IN

photo by max freund staff photographer

After trying out four sports, Sam Swart is “all in” to bring Syracuse a NCAA championship

By KJ Edelman

asst. sports editor

S

am Swart looked around Gary Gait’s office, and her eyes wandered toward a small box on top of one of his bookshelves.

Gait and Swart’s mother, Maryann, were talking about a potential verbal commitment to Syracuse when Swart walked over and opened it.

As the lid slid open, Swart opened her mouth: “Wow, really?” They both turned her way, pausing their discussion. Swart observed the mob of Gait’s rings — conference titles, NCAA title runs and professional accolades.

Maryann told her to put them back. But Gait laughed. In seconds, Swart filled her tiny hands with the jewelry, one ring per finger until they were filled.

“When she had those rings on,” Maryann said, “she felt like a champion.”

The eighth-grader, days away from committing to No. 13 Syracuse, knew she wanted her own. She starred in three sports — lacrosse, field hockey and basketball — at her high school, Archbishop John Carroll (Pennsylvania). They led her to become the versatile left-handed midfielder she is today.

If it wasn’t for basketball, she wouldn’t know how to juke. Without spin moves on the pitch, she couldn’t blow by collegiate lacrosse defenders. Swart’s breakout first season, in which she was third on SU with 36 goals, has led Gait to call her one of his hardest working players and one of the Orange’s best two-way midfielders. It’s a byproduct of her multisport repertoire. And for now, she’s “all-in” on Syracuse lacrosse.

“It’s kinda sad, to be honest. I’m not as busy,” Swart said. “It’s kinda a break for me, but it’s also a chance to become a better player.”

Swart watched her sister, Gabrielle, win state and national titles, eventually earning a spot on the United States travel gymnastics team. But Gabrielle “blew out” her knee before the Olympics, and effectively ended her gymnastics career.

Eventually, the thought of ending up injured, like her sister, scared Swart, so she quit. Gabrielle still struggled to find a new focus. One day, the then-13-year-old Swart tricked her sister to practice field hockey with her.

“I didn’t tell her I was teaching her,” Swart said. “She would’ve been mad.”

It’s kinda sad, to be honest. I’m not as busy. It’s kinda a break for me, but it’s also a chance to become a better player.

Sam Swart

sophomore midfielder

see swart page 15

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1916

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1971

First season, won USILA championship four years later (the first of four before it joined the NCAA in 1971)

1931

The Roy Simmons Sr. era begins. After 39 seasons, Simmons left Syracuse with a 253130-1 record.

Start of the Roy Simmons Jr. era. Simmons, Jr. would go on to coach SU to six national championships in his 27-year tenure as head coach. He ended with a record of 290-96.

CAUG

TIM

Look throu moments in of Syracuse women’s

1988 -1990

Syracuse wins three-straight national championships against Cornell, Johns Hopkins and Loyola. The 1990 Championship title was later vacated by the NCAA.

1993

2002

Syracuse wins its eighth national championship, beating Princeton 13-12

1995

2000

1979

Syracuse’s sixth national championship title came at the end of a 13-2 season.

Syracuse beat Maryland, 13-9 to earn the title.

The first national championship title under John Desko. The Orange won 13-7 against Princeton to cap off a 15-1 season.

APRIL The John Desko era begins.

Desko is still the head coach of SU and has led the team to five national championships.

Syracuse wins it ninth national championship, beating Navy 14-13

Syracuse wins back-toback national titles, beating Johns Hopkins 13-10 and Cornell 10-9 in overtime, respectively

MAY 16 Syracuse made its first NCAA tournament appearance. The Orange faced Maryland in the quarterfinals and lost.

1983

After dropping two games early in the season, Syracuse ended on an 11 game win streak, ending in its fifth national championship, where SU beat North Carolina 13-12.

2004 2008 -2009

MAY 28 Syracuse made its first NCAA tournament appearance. The Orange faced Maryland in the quarterfinals and lost.

1999 2013

Syracuse’s first season in the ACC. The Orange ended the season 2-3 in conference play and lost in the ACC Tournament final to Notre Dame.

NICK ALVAREZ

ANDREW GRAHAM

MICHAEL MCCLEARY

HOLDING PATTERN RECORD: 9-3 MVP: NICK MELLEN X-FACTOR: DANNY VARELLO

MUCH OF THE SAME RECORD: 9-3 MVP: NICK MELLEN X-FACTOR: DRAKE PORTER

THANK YOU, NEXT RECORD: 9-3 MVP: STEPHEN REHFUSS X-FACTOR: THE THIRD ATTACK

Syracuse isn’t losing much from a team that won eight games in 2018. Drake Porter will be a new face in net, but the returning backline is anchored by Marcus Cunningham and Nick Mellen. Stephen Rehfuss and Nate Solomon should also only improve as upperclassmen.

Yet, SU won six one-goal games a year ago and was blown out in two others, which makes the team’s talent level hard to gauge. Returning FOGO Danny Varello posted a 48.0 percent faceoff rate last year, a number that has to improve even with the new shot clock rule increasing offense and limiting time-wasting.

SU is a storied program, and there are pieces in place for a deep NCAA Tournament run. But, with no clear offensive additions, the more likely option will occur, and Syracuse will fizzle out and make another early-round exit.

Not one senior on Syracuse’s roster has been to a final four. It’s been 10 years since the program has won a national title. 2018 was yet another lean year for the Orange, getting bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at home against Cornell.

2019 has that the makings of being better. Outside of Brendan Bomberry, the only other starter from 2018 the Orange have to replace is goalie Dom Madonna.

Drake Porter seems poised to slide into that role and there are options available to fill in for Bomberry.

Danny Varello struggled at the faceoff X last season, but spent the offseason sharpening his clamp. The newest addition to college lacrosse — the shot clock — will keep position flow and put more onus on Porter and the entirely returning defense to carry the load.

What will ultimately sink Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament though is its apparent lack of a takeover scorer. There’s talent, but to make it to championship weekend, they’ll likely need someone to emerge.

Syracuse’s 2018 wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either.

The Orange, who’d advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in all but their debut year in the ACC in 2014, failed to reach that mark for the second time last season. Last year’s season showed promise that suggested a possible run in the tournament, and a lot of those people are still there. Nick Mellen can match up against almost any attack in the country. Stephen Rehfuss has the looks of a top attack option. Tucker Dordevic will remain a dangerous presence from the midfield. The questions remain in the third member of the first attack line and at goalkeeper, but Drake Porter’s looks solid in the net and Bradley Voigt, Owen Seebold and Griffin Cook all look like capable contributors to SU’s offense. There’s no reason to believe that the Orange will rapidly ascend this year, but they may be in a similar position they were last year: with an opportunity to extend a NCAA Tournament run another weekend.

BEA WRI PREDIC

SPONSO

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2013

2014

Kayla Treanor set the SU record for goals in a season: 79

HT IN

ME

2016 -2018

ugh notable n the history e men’s and lacrosse

2012

2011

Following a postseason absence, the Orange won a then-program record 19 games heading into the NCAA Tournament. After knocking off No. 1 seed Florida in double overtime, SU advanced to the finals for the first time, eventually losing 6-8 to Northwestern.

Syracuse improved its conference record threestraight seasons culminating in an 8-0 conference record and Big East regular season title in 2012

MAY 11 SU lost six-straight conference games and was bounced in the first round of the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. Syracuse’s 9-10 record was its first losing season in its history.

2018

SU does not compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Gait

2010 -2012

Syracuse improved its conference record threestraight seasons culminating in an 8-0 conference record and Big East regular season title in 2012.

AUG. 27 Gary Gait took over the helm, and the Orange went undefeated in conference play for the first time. Wins over Towson and North Carolina got SU to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

2008 2000

Syracuse earns its first NCAA Tournament berth, losing in the first round

2007 AUG. 8 The Orange join the Big East Conference. They went 5-1 in their first season in the conference

2001 1998

AT TER CTIONS

ORED BY

Syracuse joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and won a record 21 games in its inaugural ACC season. SU was seeded No. 2 in the NCAA Tournament, still its highest in program history, but couldn’t knock off Maryland in the finals.

First season, go 9-4 as an independent team under head coach Lisa Miller

2005

After a 13-6 regular season record, Syracuse advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals with a victory over No. 8 Vanderbilt.

SU drops its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament game, a 8-9 loss to No. 4 Dartmouth

ERIC BLACK

KJ EDELMEN

KACI WASILEWSKI

COMEBACK SEASON RECORD: 12-5 MVP: EMILY HAWRYSCHUK X-FACTOR: GOALIE PLAY

LIVE TO FORGET RECORD: 11-6 MVP: NICOLE LEVY X-FACTOR: SARAH COOPER

REDEMPTION TOUR RECORD: 10-7 MVP: NICOLE LEVY X-FACTOR: DRAW CONTROL

Syracuse’s 2018 season was an anomaly. The Orange dropped five games by just one goal, with three coming in overtime. That culminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Princeton, when SU came back from four goals down to force overtime, only to fall in a second extra period. This year will be different. Emily Hawryschuk, who was held scoreless for just the second time all season against the Tigers, leads a talented attack group that will keep Syracuse among the nation’s leaders in scoring. But SU’s problem last year wasn’t scoring goals, which they did an average of 14.47 times a game — 21st-best in the country. Instead, they had an issue with stopping them. This season, their 91st-ranked scoring defense will no doubt improve behind goalie Asa Goldstock, who SU head coach Gary Gait said is playing outstanding during practice after struggling during her sophomore season.

There’s a lot of factors that make forgetting last season a viable option. Syracuse didn’t have fall ball because of the mumps. They struggled to win close games — losing to Virginia, Notre Dame, Boston College — and didn’t win a conference game until April 22, the final game of the regular season. Head coach Gary Gait called it a “weird” season. Now, with a No. 13 preseason ranking, SU will get back on track.

Nicole Levy and her patented trick shots will grow along with SU’s other two leading goal scorers from last year. You also can’t discount the freshman Sarah Cooper, who was named the class of 2018’s top incoming defender by Inside Lacrosse. The Orange will have their struggles against the top-three teams in the nation, but with 12 home games, they should have a rebound season and make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse started last season with three decisive wins before falling to Virginia in its first conference game. Coincidently, before the Virginia game against Albany, draw control specialist Morgan Widner left with a seasonending ACL tear. Syracuse struggled at the draw for the rest of the season, ending the season 53rd in draw controls per game in the NCAA. If Syracuse can figure out the draw this season, they might be able to find success. The 12 home games will help the Orange, especially with six of those against teams ranked in the preseason top-25. SU is coming off its worst season in program history and its only losing season. It will be looking to redeem itself in the upcoming season, with senior Nicole Levy and junior Emily Hawryschuk leading a dynamic offense.

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TRIAL RUN

Syracuse competed in its second scrimmage of the year against Hofstra in late January. Photos below are from the third period of that game. photos by josh shub-seltzer staff photographer

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photo by max freund staff photographer

GUIDING FIGURES When Kerry Defliese went to Syracuse, her sister, Caitlin, followed as her coach

By Kaci Wasilewski asst. digital editor

aitlin Defliese thought of her younger sister, Kerry Defliese, when she was offered a job in the summer of 2016. Caitlin was coaching at Stony Brook when Syracuse head coach Gary Gait called to offer her a position as his assistant coach. Professionally, Caitlin saw it as a good move. She’d be coaching a top-25 lacrosse team under a coach who’d been at SU for almost 10 years, at the time.

But she wouldn’t have been the only person affected by the decision. Caitlin’s sister, Defliese, was set to start playing for the Orange that fall after committing two years prior.

“Is it something you would want? It’s your experience, I don’t know if you want me to be there,” Defliese remembers Caitlin asking her. At first, Defliese was hesitant. It was a little weird for her, thinking that her sister would be coming to college with her, coaching her.

But she considered the positives. Her family was always very close, and their dad Bob coached Defliese and the second-youngest, Shannon. Caitlin even spent time coaching Defliese’s club team, the Yellowjackets.

For Syracuse lacrosse, familiar ties are common. After graduating last year, Gait coached his daughter, Taylor, for the women’s team for five years. On the men’s team, the family tradition dates back to Roy Simmons Sr. coaching Roy Simmons Jr. in 1955. Current men’s head coach John Desko coached his son, Tim. And Kevin Donahue coached his son, Dylan, while his daughter, Riley, played for Gait. Lacrosse had brought the Defliese clan together, and now, it was keeping them apart.

“Family in lacrosse is a big tradition here. So I knew that at least I’d be in good company, and it wouldn’t be as strange or weird,” Caitlin said.

Caitlin and Defliese are separated by 10 years and three siblings. Caitlin is the oldest and Defliese, the youngest. Having Caitlin in Syracuse gave Defliese the opportunity to have someone around she trusted. Caitlin was there when Defliese suffered an injury that led to her redshirting her freshman season. She was there for Defliese’s return and when Defliese was asked to switch from midfielder to defender — Caitlin’s old position.

In 2018, Defliese started all 19 games for the Orange and was second on the team in caused turnovers (15). Defliese is part of a No. 13 Orange unit that’s returning three of their starting defenders in 2019 as they look to rebound from their worst season in program history.

When they were younger, Caitlin was often in charge of watching Defliese while their family traveled for lacrosse tournaments and other sporting events. Defliese started

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seeing her sister as her second mom, Defliese said.

Lacrosse was a result of Caitlin’s influence — she was the first in the family to play. From the time she was old enough to play, Caitlin joined Bob at Garden City’s recreational lacrosse camps. Bob had never tried lacrosse but always wanted to, opting to coach the sport after he played football for Cortland. For two weeks in July, she would go to the camp and learn. When she reached the older age bracket, at about 10 or 11 years old, Caitlin started to help the younger kids. When her siblings were old enough, they followed.

“I know once we saw her doing something we were like, ‘We want to do that,’” Defliese said, “so she’s always been that role model for all of us.”

As the youngest, Defliese grew up traveling to tournaments and games, as well as the recreation camp. In the family’s den, there is an umbrella stand filled with mini lacrosse sticks and a brick wall designated for wall ball. Defliese practiced here, eventually moving to Garden City’s high school field where she played for Bob and won the 2016 New York state championship as MVP. “We’re always playing something,” Defliese said, “Doing some dumb athletic game or something, no matter what it is we’re always doing something.”

While Defliese was developing her lacrosse skills, Caitlin was playing at the collegiate level as a defender at Boston University. During her time at BU, she made the NCAA Tournament all four years. After college, she became an assistant coach at Stony Brook. Then came the call from SU. It wasn’t difficult for Caitlin and Defliese to figure out the player-coach dynamic. The 10-year age gap helped them build a relationship based on respect, Caitlin said. While in practice, the two agreed that Caitlin sometimes goes a little harder on her sibling.

Defliese said she has grown “frustrated” at times with Caitlin because of the different dynamic like when she foregoes yelling at Defliese because it helps her respond better.

During the sister’s first year with the Orange, Defliese relied on Caitlin and the idea of home. She entered the first four games of the season as a midfielder, before recording her first career point on an assist to Mary Rahal against Binghamton.

Against Massachusetts on Feb. 25, Defliese went out with a concussion and, after missing multiple games for it, was awarded a redshirt. When Defliese was alone, she’d go to Caitlin’s house. There, Defliese, Caitlin and Caitlin’s husband Andrew Watkins would eat dinner together. The couple became Defliese’s “mom and dad” at SU. This season, Syracuse will need the sisters, on both sides of the field, to help it return to the program’s winning ways.

“Having her almost take care of me, like she always does,” Defliese said, “it’s really nice.” klwasile@syr.edu | @kaciwaz

lacrosse guide 2019 13

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STEADY GOING Drake Porter has built himself into SU’s third goalie in three years

By Nick Alvarez

asst. sports editor

rake Porter’s stickwork was off. He angled himself poorly in net. His clearing ability, the trait Syracuse head coach John Desko would later deem a differentiator for goalies, was a bit behind. Yet, Edge Lacrosse, a club team program in Toronto which cut Porter seven summers ago, formulated a plan to keep him.

Alan Tsang, Edge’s program director, offered Porter a training spot on the roster. He viewed Porter as a “project” who couldn’t start in his first season. Tsang recognized Porter’s talent, so, instead, Porter led Edge’s secondary squad. In his third campaign, Porter ascended to the starting role. Potential equated to expectation, and the lesson in patience worked. In 2019, Syracuse is hoping it works again.

This past fall, after sitting for two years, Porter’s status as starting goalie was “temporary,” Desko said.

Months of first-team reps did nothing to separate the junior from the pack. On Jan. 9, Desko wouldn’t name a clear front-runner. If Porter’s quick hands and ballstopping ability carried him to SU, his intensity did, too.

In high school, he talked to himself during games, asking “What are you doing?” to no apparent answer. He’d yell “Let’s go!” in big moments and scream at his teammates in others. To become the third starting goalie in three years for the No. 10 Orange, he needed to find the balance between both. Desko’s comments didn’t change the plan. The same one set in motion when Porter was 4 years old. The same one that’s supposed to end with Porter standing in the net for SU’s first faceoff.

“I don’t want to build it up too much in my head,” Porter

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photo by tj shaw staff photographer

said. “I’m doing what I do. I love playing lacrosse every day.

The difference is, I get to play on Saturdays now.”

Porter started the process at age four when he followed his brother, Chris, to practices. At Markham Thunder Peanut Lacrosse, based out of a Toronto suburb, he indoctrinated himself while surprising his dad, Dave, who had

DRAKE PORTER played in three games as a backup last year, allowing just one goal. In 2017, he appeared in one contest and notched one save. josh shub-seltzer staff photographer

picked up a stick just twice before his sons started playing. Friday nights were soon spent at Toronto Rock’s, a National Lacrosse League team, home games.

While in a United States hotel for Chris’ travel hockey team, Porter flicked on ESPNU and saw a regular season Syracuse matchup. Porter was glued. He searched YouTube videos of then-SU goalkeeper John Galloway — the last Syracuse goalkeeper to win a national title — and mimicked his play.

Porter and Chris exchanged tips through text as Porter fed into his new passion, eventually identifying Edge Lacrosse as the next step in his development. It didn’t matter that Edge held practices an hour away.

“You’re either gonna like having balls shot at your head or not,” Dave said. “Strangely, (Porter) seemed to really like it.

He took it from there.”

While growing up, Porter played a variety of sports including hockey and football. His emotions flowed through each team and practice. Porter said he carried the same mindset through every game: The next one will be the best.

At times, it fueled him to play better, but for some, his intensity hindered progress.

Individual sports hurt the most, and the isolation of a golf tee box brought the same pressure as a goalie net. Porter said he’d smack the pipes or his own head in response to letting in goals. It seemed, Dave said, that Porter usually snapped out of it 24 hours following the contest. Though, it eventually returned when Porter played on “weaker teams,” Dave said — or ones that led to Porter facing more doorstep shots.

Coaches wanted Porter to channel his competitiveness.

It appealed to some, like Tsang, who identified it in the Edge tryouts. Coaches wanted Porter to recognize “tomorrow was another day.” But tomorrow led to the next game. Losing the provincial championship in his junior year of high school, after “riding an emotional high,” triggered a phone call with his brother.

“There was a turning point where I realized we were losing the game and that sort of just,” Porter said recently before pausing, “it really dragged me down.”

Porter focused on his breathing to calm down. In lieu of screaming at his defense for missed assignments, he see porter page 14

14 lacrosse guide 2019

from page 5

hawryschuk drove nine hours to see Emily play.

“They were just always there,” said Kerrie Brown, Hawryschuk’s club coach. “It was kind of unreal. Her parents are unbelievable.”

Sticking out on Lady Roc, her high school club team, against the best players around the United States — and proving she was better — helped Hawryschuk gauge her talent level.

It was there, as well, where Brown was able to see Hawryschuk’s commitment to the people around her first-hand.

During one game at the annual Star Spangled Lacrosse Tournament in Baldwinsville, Lady Roc was fooling around and committing careless turnovers. Brown pulled Hawryschuk aside and told her, “we’re gonna do things the Lady Roc way, or we’re not gonna do things.”

“All of a sudden you put her back in the game, and it was like, assist here, goal here, draw control,” Brown said. “She was having too much fun and had to be kind of humbled, and she took it so gracefully and did exactly what we needed.”

At Syracuse, Hawryschuk is the player that calms down the team, just like Brown calmed her down. While she’s generally a quiet person off the field, Hawryschuk is the player whose voice is heard when SU finds from page 13

porter emphasized proactive communication. He developed relationships with the instructors that helped him the most, like Greg Reid, the varsity coach at St. Andrews (Ontario) College. Reid even cut Porter from a recreationleague team years earlier when Porter was “overconfident” and slacked through tryouts.

But Reid specifically demanded personal growth as Porter’s recruiting profile grew, with no exceptions. Porter soon drew offers from elite high school programs in the U.S. and Canada.

He wanted to stay in Canada, but Dave was

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itself down a goal or two and huddles in need to get back on track, SU teammate Julie Cross said.

She’s developed into the go-to person for her teammates to talk to off the field, too.

Everyone on the team respects Hawryschuk in part because of her loyalty to her family and the people around her.

“She’s not the typical college kid,” Asa Goldstock said. “She’s probably the most family-oriented person I’ve ever met in my life … If I ever need anything, anyone to lean on, or anyone to talk to, I’d always go to Emily.”

Entering her third year with her extended family, Hawryschuk’s level of comfort with her teammates has improved. After Syracuse’s worst season in program history, she’s hoping that the closeness and communication she’s developed with her family at home and with her team will translate into success on the field.

Last season, SU’s team motto was similar to her family’s philosophy: give it your all.

Moving forward, she wants her team to make the motto a reality.

“Our team motto last year was, ‘be the best,’” Hawryschuk said. “As far as my life personally, I just want to give it everything that I have on the field and off the field, working my hardest, being a good person. Just being the best in all aspects.” erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34

told that D-I colleges preferred U.S. goalies.

Porter eventually transferred to IMG Academy (Florida) for his senior year.

Through Edge Lacrosse, Major League Lacrosse veteran Dillon Ward connected with Porter for summer sessions and became Porter’s first goalie mentor. He taught Porter what YouTube videos couldn’t, starting with the importance of angles. Before Porter walked onto Syracuse’s campus for his freshman year, he traveled to Orangeville, Ontario, Ward’s hometown, and studied goalie techniques on the field that Ward grew up playing on near Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre.

Porter entered the fall as one of four goalies on the SU roster, yet he didn’t redshirt because

EMILY HAWRYSCHUK appeared in every game in 2018 and led all Syracuse players in both goals (53) and points (61). max freund staff photographer

he competed to be then-starter Evan Molloy’s backup. He appeared in one game his freshman season — tallying two saves against Cornell on April 11, 2017 — and impressed another backup, leading eventual-starter Dom Madonna to turn to a teammate and say, “Wow, this kid really does step it up in big games.”

Madonna had noticed Porter’s talent in practice, when the latter was on scout teams.

He also realized Porter’s persistent fire that sparked in fall ball and caused Porter to text Ward for advice. But Madonna reached out to Porter. He said he went through similar struggles in high school. The two confided in between drills, sometimes offering a pat on the shoulder after a string of tough shots.

Throughout last season, with Porter listed as the backup, Madonna emphasized communication with the backline.

Porter’s focus turned to 2019 as the prior season ended and Madonna graduated. After the fall, Desko called Porter into his office.

Porter still wasn’t told he’d be the starter. He wouldn’t hear that until six days before SU’s season-opener against Colgate. But, Desko said, Porter had done enough to keep his post atop the Orange’s depth chart. As he walked outside, Porter called his brother and celebrated before quickly remembering the unfulfilled goal. For just a moment, Porter saw the bigger picture. And the plan seemed to be working. nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez

lacrosse guide 2019 15

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from page 6

fusco center of the community.

The culture fostered there gives Yorktown a distinct advantage. In 53 years of existence, the Cornhuskers have won seven state championships, 40 sectional titles and fed college rosters around the country.

Murphy died in 2003 at the age of 93.

Fusco and Frankie met him, though neither remembers much of the man. The house serves as a reminder of glories past. Plaques meant for the high school — state championships, All-Americans — line the walls at Mr. Murph’s house. Fusco still wears a piece of athletic tape with the initials “CM” on the facemask of his helmet.

“To Yorktown lacrosse, that’s like our church,” Frankie said. “There are guys that are just feeling weird some days or going through a tough time, they’ll come back to town, and they’ll go to Murph’s house and just hang out for a little bit and sit in the yard by themselves. And it brings them closure to sit there. It’s like a safe home for a lot of people.”

The Fusco’s moved back to Yorktown for the kids to go to high school there, Frank said. In the spring of 2010, Frankie enrolled at Yorktown for the second half of his sophomore year. Fusco began as a freshman that fall.

Now, Fusco downplays the pressure or expectations on Frankie, himself and their younger sister, Rilea, in high school. He rightly points out

that the pressure didn’t come from parents.

But everyone knew Frank’s kids were coming to play lacrosse at Yorktown.

“Do I feel that Austin felt a lot of pressure and had a lot of pressure?” Frank asked rhetorically. “Yeah.” ƀɠƀɠƀ he game of mini lacrosse ended abruptly, as the two Fusco brothers tussled on their teammate’s back lawn.

At Joey Raniolo’s house for a team dinner in 2012, the game broke out as usual. Intensity built up until Frankie ripped a shot directly at Fusco. The brothers rolled around on the back lawn. Inside, someone announced “Frankie and Austin are at it!” Pauline, the boys’ mother, stormed outside and quick as it started, the scrap ceased.

“There are plenty of times that I’ve seen the Fusco’s fight,” former SU attack and Yorktown alum Nick Mariano said. “They love each other, that’s what makes it so fun. But it’s the brotherly love. Growing up, you’re always going to butt heads, especially for those types of families where they’re so close, they’re always with each other.”

Fusco refers to the times he loses control or is feeling flustered or rattled as getting “jammed.” He’s gotten jammed plenty in his life. Fusco and Frank share the same temperament: intensely loyal, kind hearted and a long fuse.

“They simmer,” Pauline said. “They’ll take a lot before it gets to the point, but once the cap

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has come off, it’s blind anger. It’s scary.”

Rob Doerr, the Cornhuskers’ defensive coordinator, spent years trying to “tap into” Fusco’s emotions. They shared emotional defense-only meetings with the team. Sometimes the group cried, sometimes they raged.

Pauline remembered asking her son why he chose to play defense. “Because I like the feeling that I can dominate (the opponent) in my own way and get my job done,” he told her. “I don’t need the glory. It’s satisfying when you’re on your man and you get your job done.”

“That’s when I said to Rob Doerr,” Pauline said, “’What did you do to this kid?’”

By his junior year, Fusco mastered his emotions, in tune with himself and his team. Doerr showed Fusco to use his fervor to connect with teammates and unleash himself on the field.

When the Fusco’s German Shepherd, Polly, died in the spring of Fusco’s junior year, Fusco wouldn’t enter the house, knowing she wasn’t there, Pauline said. The grief took a toll on his play. He knew it, so he gathered his teammates in the locker room.

He apologized for not playing up to par and asked his teammates to understand, to help him through the loss. He cried. Teammates cried. The way Fusco connected is something Doerr’s never seen before.

“I wasn’t saying that at 17,” he said. “Admitting fault, admitting this, help me get through this, I’ll help you. It was — it’s an amazing thing to see.”

ƀɠƀɠƀ veryone remembers how fast Fusco ran that day at Hofstra University.

Straight up the middle of the field, stick jutting straight out, defenders hacking at his arms.

Everyone will tell you how his legs blurred as he churned upfield. And that the prior game, on a near identical play, Fusco passed to Connor Vercruysse for a goal. And about the goosebumps they get thinking about the fact he didn’t.

Seemingly the whole town of Yorktown came to see the 2014 Class B state championship game against Jamesville-DeWitt.

Pauline watched Fusco immediately get off the bus and hug Frank. Frankie tapped the keg and raised a block “Y” flag for the alumni tailgate by 9 a.m. Rilea sat down in the student section amid the celebration after Fusco’s goal, overwhelmed. Fusco tackled Doerr immediately after the game. Everyone shares some small piece of the day that team and that play became immortal. It is Yorktown canon, like the name Fusco.

Doerr calls Fusco a “foxhole guy.” He led one historic lacrosse program to a championship and, now at SU, is trying to lead another one to the promised land. The pressure that could’ve made him crumble pushed him to become all he is today. Looking back, it was inevitable.

“It kind of feels like it now,” Fusco said.

“That’s where I was meant to be.”

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aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham

from page 7

swart “Help me insert the ball,” Swart said to her.

Gabrielle did. Swart needed someone to pass to, then. That’s not too much to ask, Gabrielle thought. “Can you score on the run, now, like me?” Swart said to her. Gabrielle got the hang of field hockey, even enjoyed playing it. Swart redirected the coaches scouting her for a potential field hockey scholarship to her older sister.

Gabrielle played field hockey for Kutztown after her middle school sister taught her the basics. She didn’t need to only do gymnastics, be one-dimensional. Swart didn’t need to be, either. ƀɠƀɠƀ n seventh grade, Swart saw Gait in the distance at a local lacrosse game she was playing in. She knew him, and of course the school he coached. The 12 year old thought back to her pair of “Jordan Melo” basketball sneakers that her dad, Mike, gave her two years prior.

She remembered all of the Syracuse basketball games they shared together in their Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, home then.

Gabrielle could see Swart was nervous about approaching Gait. Her older sister had been through it before: she’d committed to Louisville as an eighth grader. She told Swart to just tell him her name, why she’s so fast and determined, what she desires. Speak from your heart, she said. Swart was ready, but then she opened her mouth.

“Hi, I’m Sam. I’m from Philly, but you probably don’t really care,” Swart said to Gait. “I want to play for you.”

Gait nodded. He said he’d see her around.

Their first interaction may have not gone as planned, Gabrielle said, but Swart knew her future: She wanted to play lacrosse for Syracuse. Swart liked the finesse of lacrosse, how it wasn’t a traditional game like field hockey.

There were always new moves, dodges, shots that could be done.

A 40-mile move from her middle school in Coopersburg to Archbishop Carroll solidified her commitment to lacrosse but didn’t end her multisport madness. Waking up to an hour, sometimes 90-minute drive to Radnor forced Swart to call the school’s secretary, Barbara Volpe, and tell her she’d miss homeroom.

After classes came practice and games for two, even three different sports in a day. Regularly, Maryann — who didn’t want to make the trip back home across eastern Pennsylvania — would wait in her car, sometimes up to five hours after lacrosse practice ended.

When Swart got home, usually at about 9:30 p.m., it wouldn’t stop. Hundreds of shots on her front lawn in the dark swung into her new Christmas gift, her own lacrosse net. Her skills grew, eventually earning her the nickname “Lightning” from teammates because of her speed.

Swart slowly started to eliminate basket-

I

SAM SWART experimented with four different sports growing up, eventually settling on lacrosse. As a freshman, Swart scored 36 goals, third among SU players. max freund staff photographer

ball from her life, divvying her time into field hockey and lacrosse. In lacrosse, Carroll rattled off 17-straight victories in Swart’s final season. And after she was double and triple-teamed in Carroll’s final two playoff games, she scored the school’s two final goals in its state championship win.

After the title, Swart ordered a state championship ring engraved with her grandfather’s initials, but it surprised her.

“She was like ‘Wow this is so small compared to Gary’s rings,’” Maryann said. ƀɠƀɠƀ wart had fully committed to playing lacrosse as a ninth grader, but the possibility of playing field hockey loomed in her mind when she joined the U-19 U.S. national team, coached by SU head coach Ange Bradley. Bradley knew Swart’s priority was lacrosse, Swart said, but kept an open offer to the incoming freshman.

After four years of anticipation to play for

S

her dream team and coach, Swart was locked out. Her inaugural fall ball, preseason before her freshman season, was canceled due to a mumps outbreak. Her key cards in Manley Field House were denied. The freshman had to wait longer.

What ensued was described by Swart and Gait as a “weird” season. Syracuse posted its first losing record in program history. Multiple leads were blown in the waning minutes of games. But one of the only positives from the season was Swart’s play. She scored in all but two of SU’s 19 games, but shuffled in and out of the starting lineup. In the Orange’s lone NCAA Tournament game, Swart started and scored when SU was down 9-3, sparking a run of eight goals in 30 minutes to give it the lead.

A game prior, Syracuse, a team that hadn’t won its first conference game until April 22, played the first round of the ACC Tournament against North Carolina. The Tar Heels scored seven of the first eight goals and dominated SU thoroughly. Swart was held without a goal and turned the ball over

four times in the 21-12 loss.

After years of bouncing from sport-tosport, practice-to-practice and game-togame, Maryann remembered the then-freshman dart to the busing area in her Syracuse uniform after the game. Gait was right behind Swart, waiting to comfort her. It was one of the first times Maryann had seen her daughter cry after a game.

Despite the disappointing season, it was the first time in Swart’s life that she was fully dedicated to lacrosse.

“I wasn’t expecting everything I have now,” Swart said. “It’s really a gift from God.” The possibility of playing other sports still lingers in her mind. Swart recently brought her field hockey stock back up to college, Maryann said. She also entertains the idea of playing a graduate year for Bradley, throwing out “maybe” after every claim.

But for now, the sophomore just wants a bigger ring. kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman

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