How is Syracuse so adept at transitioning from defense to offense?

John Desko: I think the last couple of years, it’s started with [sophomore goalkeeper] John Galloway. If he makes the save, I think he’s one of the better clearing goalies and outlet-passing goalies in the game today. And then [senior defenseman] Sid [Smith] comes to us with a tremendous stick, and he’s very slick at finding the open man and understands the clear. [Sophomore defenseman] John Lade has done a good job there also, and on top of that, I think our short sticks are about as athletic as we’ve had with [sophomore] Jovan Miller, [freshman] Kevin Drew, [senior] Matty Abbott, [junior] Joe Coulter. The guys can get up and down the field pretty well, so I think that helps us in transition.

When you look at Maryland with junior Brian Phipps in the cage, what do you see out of him? Even though he’s a guy who has only played part-time here the last few years, do you see somebody that is one of the better goalies in the country?

John Desko: I think you do. The games that I’ve seen – I’ve obviously seen more recently – even during the year, I’ve seen a couple [televised] games, and I thought he’s been very solid, and the defense has been good around him. They’ve been pretty stingy this year, and they’re a physical group. So you know if you’re going to dodge and try to penetrate, you’re probably going to get hit if you go in there. So I think they’ve been good as a group, and I think he’s been playing pretty solid all year.

What do you remember about the last time these two teams played back in 1997 in the NCAA tournament semifinal at Byrd Stadium? (Note: The Terps won, 18-17, before falling to Princeton in the title game.)

John Desko: We used to scrimmage in the spring. We haven’t done it the last couple of years, but before that, we scrimmaged, so we know them a little bit. But the ’97 game, I just remember that it was really back and forth. It was really a physical game. A lot of contact in that kind of game. I thought they played with a lot of intensity, and they played hard. It was a very good lacrosse game.

What’s your impression of Maryland senior midfielder Dan Groot?

John Desko: I think he’s one of their top middies. You have a hard time deciding whether to pole him or [senior midfielder Jeremy] Sieverts. I know Notre Dame poled him. I think he goes to the goal as hard as anybody that Maryland has. When he goes down that alley, he’s certainly one of the top threats around to score. So you’ve got to know where he has, you’ve got to decide how to play him, and if he gets to his spot, you’re going to have to go and help out and double-team him because he’s got some range on his shot.

What do you make of the Terps’ decision to move sophomore Grant Catalino from attack to midfield?

John Desko: I think by doing that, it allows [sophomore attackman Jake] Reed to come in, and he can really finish the ball left-handed on that corner. He’s a pretty smart player, he’s pretty slick in there. Definitely, you have to decide whom you’re going to pole in that group now. It allows him [Catalino] to come in with that group and invert at times and go behind the goal and all of a sudden now, you’ve got Sieverts and Groot up top and you can get [junior attackman Will] Yeatman on one wing, you can get Reed out there on another wing. So then all of a sudden, he [Catalino] is behind the goal, which is always a tough matchup, especially going against a short stick. And then you’ve got all those dangerous shooters out front. It gives them another dimension, and he’s a good inside player, so that the other two middies can come up top and dodge, and he can catch the ball and finish on the inside. Any time you’ve got somebody of that physical size, he makes a great pick or screen, and it just gives them a new dimension to that first group.