Pete Coluccini with an ice bag strapped to his right knee, grey undershirt splotched with sweat just wanted more.

Not more playing time; he says he’s fine splitting time in goal with freshman John Galloway. Syracuse head coach John Desko and his staff have yet to decide who will start between the two. Coluccini, a junior and starter the past two seasons, understands that.

So his only regret following Saturday’s five-hour endurance contest of a lacrosse scrimmage between Syracuse, Hofstra and Le Moyne was an odd one, considering his position.

‘Unfortunately, all the goalies didn’t see that many shots,’ Coluccini said. ‘But we made do with what we had.’

What they had was just a smattering of chances, not the sort of cannonade that would reveal who is the man for the job.

The Orange offense dominated the majority of both scrimmages, winning 12-5 over Hofstra and 9-3 over the Dolphins, who won the Division II National Championship last year.

Mike Leveille keyed the offense, which was inefficient but in control, logging long minutes in their opponent’s zone. The senior attack notched five goals and four assists spread across the two scrimmages.

But scoring goals isn’t expected to be an issue this year. Preventing them is, as Syracuse looks to improve off its 5-8 season last year. The goalie battle plays a large role in that.

Desko kept things safe Saturday. With the scrimmages split into three sessions – 30 minutes long with the Pride, 20 minutes with the Dolphins – he gave Coluccini and Galloway a period in each scrimmage. Al Cavalieri, the third goalie, played two as well, mostly with reserves.

Coluccini played the first session, giving up a goal two minutes in before his team settled around him. He gave up another late. He made one save. His recipe was the same against Le Moyne: an early goal – this one in the first minute, a late goal and a save.

Galloway let two through against the Pride as well, but made two saves. He started the scrimmage against Le Moyne and shut them out. The Orange led 5-0 when he left.

Desko said afterward he and his staff would meet Sunday morning to watch film and come closer to a decision. As he has all season, his words favored neither – instead using his praise for his defense.

When opponents did get a chance to attack, the defense swarmed. For the defense, led by senior Evan Brady and junior college transfer Sid Smith, Desko said it didn’t matter who was in net.

‘We really stayed with the defenses that we were going to use, ran some pressure at times, and then we ran our base defenses also,’ Desko said. ‘We just played our game and didn’t worry about how we were playing in the cage.’

But that defense may have hurt the veteran goalie’s chances.

Coluccini could have used a few more shots – anything to help show he can hold his own in net, and that his 11.28 goals against average last season was a fluke.

Because when it comes to clearing the ball and setting up the offense, Galloway brings a deft passing touch, the kind that might push him over the top.

‘He’s very good out of the cage,’ Coluccini said of Galloway.

The freshman, a West Genesee High product and All-Central New York team member last year, made that clear Saturday.

Just a possession or two after he had lofted a 50-yard rainbow into the offensive zone against Hofstra, he outdid himself.

Galloway dropped down on both knees to block a Pride shot up the middle, then scooped up the ball. He moved a few steps forward and rifled it 40 yards downfield. Freshman midfield Tom Guadagnolo caught it clean, starting up the Syracuse offensive machine.

Galloway downplays the sequence, as he did most everything: his play, the battle for the starting job, the pressure on him.

‘Coach [Lelan] Rogers has done a good job with us, and he’s really made the defense simple,’ Galloway said. ‘It’s easy to follow, and I think the defense responded today. I really didn’t have to face many shots.’

Soon though, the Orange will face plenty of shots. The big guns at Johns Hopkins, Princeton and Virginia will make sure of that. So Desko has to decide who his goalie is.

Little time remains. Harvard visits the Dome on Saturday, one last audition for Desko before the season opener on Feb. 19 against Villanova.

‘He’ll make the right decision,’ Coluccini said of his coach. ‘So we’ll see what happens.’

Published on February 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm