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Message: [QUOTE="JeremyCuse, post: 289537, member: 43"] I think this is pretty much spot on. Look as much as I have been dissapointed the last three years I think everyone knew SU was going to take step back after back to back championships in 08 and 09 and years like this one (2012) are going to happen from time to time no matter what sport you play if your a D1 school. The problem isnt this year as Phat pointed out but other factors that are all occurring at once making the overall situation an issue. The upset losses to Army and Maryland are killing Desko right now, a win in either of those games and at worst SU is probably in the championship game both years, not saying they would have won but that 2010 team had most of the pieces to win a title. 2011 I am not so sure, they had issues on offense that the D was able to cover up and Maryland finally exposed. The problem is when your a top program like syracuse and you combine two post season failures in a row with the current year where the team barely made the tourney and got bounced in the first round the rumblings begin that the program maybe on a downturn. Right or wrong Desko and the program are now a victim of there own success, SU fans have come rely on the Lax program to be that one Mens sport where SU dominates year in and year out (basketball is more recent to the party) and when that appears to be fading or in jeopardy people get nervous and demand action. Desko also has to deal with other issues some of which are his own doing and some that are not. Right or wrong Darryl Gross brought in Gait several years ago to be the mens coach here when the program seemed to be in a downslide in the mid 2000's. You dont pay a girls Lax coach that kind of salary if you dont have other plans. Desko got the message and threw a wrench in the plans by winning back to back titles in Gait's first two years here. Problem is Gait is still here and if the program slips far enough Gross wont hesitate to pull the trigger because he cant afford for the Lax program to get into a rebuild mode like the fball team. The good news for Coach Desko and the fanbase like myself who are Desko fans is that he has a track record of big time success in the regular season and NCAA tourney as well as respondign when his back against the wall. At minimum it would take another two years of play like this before Gross could even contemplate making a change. The second bigger problem is recruiting. I think most fans here would admit the program hasn't given its all in recruiting the Island and downstate for quite sometime. We certainly havent abandoned that area by any means but we have been bleedign top guys out of there for close to a decade now and its really become apparent over the past 5-6 years. I think the staff and Desko really need to take a look at doubling there efforts on the Island along with other areas of downstate and northern Jersey. Syracuse has always taken the approach that they can take 3-4 star guys and make them 5 star players and for the most part we have under Desko's tenure. However like everything else that way of recruiting will eventually catch up and when guys dont pan out as stars (Coleman, Ianzito, Barber, Eilers(save for this year), Amidon, Miller, etc your offense can struggle which ours has the past 2-3 seasons. 1 or 2 big time Attackmen or Midfield guys would have made a world of difference the past 2-3 years and SU would likely have had at least one more title. The 2014 class allready has a couple of 5* guys but next year could be another struggle on offense. [/QUOTE]

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