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Gary Gait knew the enormous weight Friday’s contest carried for John Odierna. Syracuse’s first-year defensive coordinator was amid uncharted territory, going toe-to-toe against Manhattan — the program he spent eight years building from a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference bottom-feeder to a perennial contender.

With the Jaspers, Odierna was known for being the ultimate players coach. He received intense buy-in to his aggressive tactics and detailed preparation. It was a given he’d grow a similar culture at SU. And before squaring off with the group Odierna left, a move he called “tough,” the message spread rapidly in Syracuse’s locker room:

“The guys appreciate coach Odierna very much and they want to have the best game for him, to show that he took this job for a reason, to coach these guys,” Gait said after SU’s win over Colgate on Feb. 5. “These guys know that they owe him to come out and perform their best for Manhattan and really demonstrate what Syracuse lacrosse is all about.”

The eventual outcome eerily resembled how Odierna shut down attacks at Manhattan. Pinpointing the opponents’ scheme. Placing an emphasis on locking down their best player. Defending with unmatched physicality. What Odierna preaches is exactly what No. 9 Syracuse (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) did in its 16-3 victory over Manhattan (0-1, 0-0 MAAC). It was the fewest goals SU had let up in a single game since allowing three versus Colgate on May 7, 2016.

“We were playing for him today,” Saam Olexo said of Odierna postgame. “We always play for him.”

During a media availability session on Jan. 24, Odierna said his players have been responding to the type of culture he’s gunning to implement at SU. He wants to bring the program back into a blue-collar mindset with a feared defense, something he said hasn’t been the focal point of Syracuse for many years.

Versus the team which he was the head coach of just last season, Odierna’s defense held Manhattan to its fewest goals in a single game since May 2022.

“The players today really wanted to have a good game and execute, play well so they could have coach O’s back,” Gait said postgame. “And I thought they did a great job right from the beginning.”

Odierna’s expertise on his former Jaspers squad gave him the tools to craft an exquisite game plan. According to Gait, his team “knew” how Manhattan was going to clear the ball. It resulted in a strong performance on the ride for the Orange, who forced 17 Manhattan turnovers including a few that became quick goals.

Former Manhattan midfielder Luke Hanson, who plays offensive-minded, said Odierna focuses on instilling his defensive attitude into non-defenders. And in the third quarter Friday, an unlikely culprit in Joey Spallina intercepted a pass from Louden Sheehan, as the Jaspers attempted to clear it out wide. The following offensive possession resulted in a man-up opportunity and a goal for Spallina.

But the Orange had more than enough in the attack to down Manhattan. They didn’t need Odierna’s prior knowledge. Where Odierna made his most impressive mark was how much SU limited Manhattan attack Kyle Gucwa — the Jaspers’ leading scorer of the past four years.

Gucwa, who tallied team-bests in goals (25) and assists (25) during 2023, spent most of his time at X, at times looking to distribute yet often searching for wraparound scores. In response, Syracuse placed long pole defender Billy Dwan in lockstep with Gucwa for nearly the entire game. Dwan followed Gucwa behind the cage, deleting passing lanes and forcing him too far outside which forced the attack to take errant shot attempts.

Already reeling from a 3-1 deficit, Manhattan worked possession to Gucwa at X. Dwan was right there with him behind the cage, cutting off a Gucwa dodge to the right and forcing him further back. Gucwa loitered for a little bit longer, with the shot clock winding down, and drove to Dwan’s right side.

Dwan checked and battered him to push him further and further away from the cage. The sophomore defender caused Gucwa to chuck a desperation attempt at Will Mark which bounced wide of the goalie — and warranted a shot clock violation against Manhattan.

Later in the first quarter, with the Orange up 5-1, Gucwa charged at Dwan again but this time, he had a better angle to get outside of the defender’s grasp. Dwan planted his back foot, backpedaled and extended his stick to take away Gucwa’s shot. It forced Gucwa to readjust for a shot at the inside crease, which Mark read the whole time and stopped.

Throughout the win, Dwan silenced Gucwa. The attack was held to zero goals, and only two of his six shot attempts proved to be on target.

“(Dwan is) really developing some confidence and stepping up,” Gait said. “I’m just glad he’s enjoying being out there. It looks like he’s having fun, he’s being aggressive, he’s taking risks and I think that’s only going to help him improve.”

Syracuse made Manhattan’s offense anemic. A methodical scheme failed to break through a fortified SU defensive unit for any significant production. Attacks like Gucwa and even dodging midfielders like Kelly DuPree and Drew Hiner were stalled by a physical Syracuse side which never seemed to allow any opponents near the front of the net.

Olexo credited the performance to Odierna’s scheme, where he makes sure his players are playing to their strengths — what became coined the “Enterprise defense” at Manhattan.

“He does give us freedom,” Olexo said of Odierna. “He gives us a little more freedom than we used to, but obviously not too much.”

There’s a long road ahead for Odierna to complete his project of turning Syracuse into a defensive-minded program. Yet for the early going of his debut season calling the shots in the back end, his culture has been imprinted at SU.

Though the fact that the night his ambitions with Syracuse — spearheading a player-oriented defense to boost the program back into the national championship conversation — started to take shape against his former team was chillingly fitting.

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” Odierna said on Jan. 24. “Every guy matters. And for us to get where we want to go, everyone’s gotta pull us there.”

Published on February 9, 2024 at 10:24 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews