Men's Lacrosse

Salcido looks to use experience on scout team, intangibles in expanded midfield role for Syracuse

Spencer Bodian | Staff Photographer

Sergio Salcido spent much of last season on the scout team. This year, he'll probably get a more prominent role using the lessons he learned there and the intangibles he already brings to the table.

Every morning last summer, Sergio Salcido woke up around 8:30 and had oatmeal, a six-egg omelet and egg whites to try to put on some weight.

He then spent up to an hour and a half at Davis Training Systems in Orlando, Florida had a salad or sandwich for lunch and finished the day at Winter Park High School with an hour and a half of shooting, followed by wall ball and more shots.

It was all part of a regimented offseason intended to transform Salcido from a scout-team player who imitated top offensive opponents in practice last year, to becoming one himself. The 5-foot-7, 157-pound sophomore isn’t physically imposing, but his intangible skill and knowledge of the game is what has the Syracuse coaches planning on using him as a second-line midfielder in a jam-packed position group.

“I was getting the looks, the reps in practice,” Salcido said, “competing against the starting defenders, which I think is starting to pay off this year.”

While Salcido’s role was primarily to mimic what upcoming top attackers would bring at SU defenders, learning a handful of offenses instead of just the Orange’s reaped major benefits for him as well.



“He did a lot of roles last year that some kids can’t do,” said assistant coach Lelan Rogers, who also runs the scout team. “(Scout team players) are getting a crash course in college lacrosse probably a lot quicker than guys that are learning just one offense or two offenses.”

Salcido helped SU’s top defender, Brandon Mullins, better prepare for future opponents. In turn, Mullins would give Salcido tips such as how to place his stick when rolling away from pressure.

He’s parlayed that advice into results on the field, which began to show in Saturday’s first scrimmage. Against Hofstra, Salcido dashed from the right side of the field toward the middle, leaping and firing a left-handed shot over the goalie’s shoulder and into the top of the net from distance.

While it was only one of 18 SU goals in the exhibition, the sequence was a microcosm of what Salcido brings to the field.

“He can juke and he can do a split-dodge against any player on our team,” Rogers said. “… like Hakeem Lecky can, like Henry Schoonmaker can. He may not be the size of some of those guys but sometimes the smaller you are, the quicker you are. He’s a pretty good shooter, too.”

But Salcido’s strength playing on the wing and his proficiency in picking up ground balls may push him into a more significant role, as the new faceoff rules integrate more wing play into the game.

Head coach John Desko said Salcido’s position on the wing is one way he’s finding to get more time on the field. That, and the fact Salcido is always in the coach’s office asking how he can get on the field, Rogers said, is what’s making him stand out more.

“He has always come in and talked about the offense, defense, clears and rides,” Desko said. “I’ve said all along the guys who understand the offense and defense tend to get on the field quicker than guys who don’t.”

On Saturday, when midfielder Tim Barber was asked if there were any second- or third-line players who stood out, “Sergio Salcido” was his first answer.

And while the praise was similar to what he received in practice last year, Salcido may now be able to display his explosiveness against opposing defenders instead of just his own.

Said Rogers: “He’ll have those moments when, wow — but now the secret is being consistent to do that all the time.”





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