Before John Desko and his players traveled to Providence on Monday for a game in which they were already set up to stumble, he was already thinking Villanova.

“We’ve got to think about Villanova in the long run, too,” the Syracuse head coach said Monday afternoon. “It’s all about Providence right now, but in the back of my head, we’re coming home to leave to Philadelphia again.”

But the No. 4 Orange (5-1, 2-0 Big East) pounded the Friars 18-9. SU oozed self-assuredness post-game, gladly looking toward Villanova (1-5, 0-0) and beyond.

“I think we showed that we’re national title contenders,” SU goaltender Dominic Lamolinara said.

Confidence overflowed throughout the team and was seemingly uncontainable Tuesday night. But now the Orange is in another emotional balancing act. Every smile and compliment accepted or directed at a teammate has to be countered by perspective.

“Yeah, our team goal is definitely to get to the Final Four and get a national championship, but we got to make an effort to take it one game at a time, because that’s where it counts,” Syracuse midfielder Luke Cometti said. “We got Villanova this weekend and that’s what’s in our sight.”

Then, a pair of grinning teammates walked by fist-pumping and shouting, “’Metti.”

While many of his teammates were making their way out of the visitors’ locker room, JoJo Marasco jogged into the athletic lobby still in full gear and eye black. On his way, he pounded Brenny Daly on his right shoulder.

“Nice G, kid,” he said, running past the freshman midfielder.

Syracuse’s attacking dominance from its statement win against then-No. 5 Johns Hopkins spilled over into the blowout of the Friars, with inexperienced players like Daly taking the field and scoring.

Still, mere minutes before the Orange faced off with Providence on Tuesday, undefeated No. 2 Cornell fell to No. 16 Bucknell at home 9-8. Those exact types of results were on Desko’s mind Monday, looking ahead to a week in which SU is heavily favored.

“Every week now, you look at some of the traditionally highly ranked teams lose a game against somebody,” he said. “So with all this parity, you really can’t take anybody lightly.”

The Orange started No. 12 in the preseason polls, far removed from the expectations that follow this program everywhere it goes. But storming back into the top five firmly replanted a target on SU’s back, and if Syracuse beats the Wildcats on Saturday, the Orange will likely rise to No. 3 in the nation.

Lamolinara raised eyebrows when he declared his team would contend for the championship, but Henry Schoonmaker was quick to point out how little Lamolinara really said. Ranking fluctuations aside, the Orange is simply doing what it’s supposed to.

“Everybody comes here for a national championship,” Schoonmaker said. “So it’s kind of a given right when you come here.”

Everything appears to be clicking for SU. The attack is dodging, picking, cutting, passing and scoring at a breakneck pace. The defense is flattening the few attacks each game that even consider approaching the crease, and Chris Daddio is owning the faceoff X.

Even Lamolinara, SU’s No. 2 goaltender, is making the starting job his own, stuffing opposing attackers one-on-one at his doorstep. He’s the one stating the underlying obvious, but he’s part of what’s making the prospect realistic.

“Dom right now has played extremely well against Hopkins, he played great today,” Desko said. “He’s doing clearing and communicating, and those are the three big parts of being a goaltender, and he’s playing well in all those spots.”

Published on March 21, 2013 at 1:28 am

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_