In Syracuse’s season opener, Alyssa Murray showcased a characteristic that gave fellow attack Tee Ladouceur confidence their team was in good hands, even with a flurry of young players.

The freshman attack Murray played like a seasoned vet in that game against Colgate on Feb. 17. And Ladouceur recalled one moment specifically.

‘She had a turnover, I think, in one of the plays,’ Ladouceur said. ‘And the next play, she was like, ‘I don’t care that I had that turnover. I’m going to get this ball, I’m going to shoot it, I’m going to score it.”

If No. 9 SU hopes to return to the final four this year and go even further, it will be forced to rely on a bunch of new faces on offense. And after Sunday’s 21-11 shellacking, courtesy of No. 12 Virginia, the freshmen will need to step it up faster than expected.

But Ladouceur is fully confident in the rookies. They wouldn’t be on the field if they weren’t good enough.

‘They are truly phenomenal players who are going to help us out tremendously this year,’ Ladouceur said.

Sophomore attack Michelle Tumolo knows the veteran players still need to take a role in showing the freshmen the ropes. As talented as they may be, they’re still inexperienced, and that shows in SU’s 1-2 record this season.

It is important to take the rookies under their wing, keep them pumped up and keep their confidence and energy high, Tumolo said.

Tumolo tries to do that in game situations, especially with Katie Webster, a freshman midfielder who has been scoring at will for the Orange and carried them in the loss Sunday.

‘If she makes one mistake, I’ll just stop her and be like, ‘Katie, you’re awesome, keep going, keep doing what you know how to do,” Tumolo said. ‘Because everyone makes mistakes. That’s how you learn.’

But as important as they are offensively, the season — like the freshmen — is still young. Head coach Gary Gait recognizes their importance but isn’t ready to crown anyone a superstar yet.

‘There’s a learning curve, and we’re certainly getting a little better,’ Gait said. ‘But we got a long way to go.’

Luckily for the Orange, there is still plenty of time left to develop. Plenty of time left to analyze and correct any mistakes the freshmen make early on.

That time is important because the freshmen make up key parts of the first and second midfield lines. They have a huge role, and Ladouceur said it is better for them to learn through experience now so they can contribute in the more important games later.

‘Mistakes are going to happen, and we know that, and that’s fine,’ Ladouceur said. ‘We want them to make mistakes. We want them to know that it’s OK to make mistakes, and we’re going to have their back through it all.

‘In the end, these early games, they don’t matter. The games at the end of the season are what matter, and if we’re going to make mistakes, make them now, and we’ll learn from them as the season progresses.’

Tumolo hopes the freshmen’s success so far will carry through as the games go on. If the freshmen aren’t performing up to their capabilities, she said the blame is on the veterans. They need to make sure the confidence of the freshmen doesn’t waver.

For Murray and Webster, though, that doesn’t seem to be a major problem. Murray has started every game for SU. Webster has also started every game for the Orange and scored six goals in the team’s loss to Virginia.

Ladouceur knows freshmen like them will help carry this team. So far they’ve produced, and she expects that to continue.

Discussing Murray’s confidence after her turnover again, Ladouceur couldn’t stop being amazed at her actions.

‘She had all the confidence in the world,’ Ladouceur said. ‘That’s awesome to see in a freshman because they don’t always have all the confidence in the world, and they’re kind of scared after they make mistakes.

‘She bounced right back after that mistake and was mentally sound. I think she’s going to be a phenomenal asset to this team, and you’re going to see great things from her.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

 

Published on February 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu