ITHACA – Steve Panarelli didn’t see it coming.

The SU defenseman chased after Cornell attacker Andrew Collins, and before he could react to the 2-inch puddle of standing water on the turf, he was sliding face-first at Collins’ feet.

‘That isn’t really my style of play,’ Panarelli said. ‘I’m more of a speed guy. You realize you’re gonna make mistakes and bad things are gonna happen (when it’s damp), but you just got to keep playing.’

Panarelli wasn’t the only player sent for an unfamiliar ride on the slick turf, which accumulated several puddles after a steady rain blanketed Schoellkopf Field for the opening 25 minutes of Syracuse’s 12-10 victory over Cornell last night. The damp conditions sent more bodies tumbling than balls found the net in the first quarter.

The sloppy conditions suited the Big Red’s slow-attack offense, but forced the fast-breaking Syracuse offense to rethink its usual quick tempo.

The Orangemen limited the length of their passes because the ball was more likely to slip out of the wet stick, midfielder Sean Lindsey said.

The Orangemen also wore wet turf shoes instead of the dry turf shoes they’ve worn for SU’s four games on the Carrier Dome carpet.

Still, it appeared the SU attackers were a little more cautious making sharp cuts. Attacker Michael Powell missed the pipes on all seven of his shots in the first half. But after the rain stopped and the field dried a bit during halftime, Powell found the back of the net on three of his five second-half shots.

‘When it’s wet out, it’s horrible for guys like me and Mike (Powell) – guys who rely on our feet more,’ Panarelli said.

Schoellkopf streak-stoppers

Last night didn’t mark the first time playing on a damp turf for some Orangemen. The SU upperclassmen played in almost the same conditions two years ago in a loss at Cornell.

‘It was dj vu all over again,’ said Steve Vallone, referring to the rainy conditions the Orangemen played through in SU’s 15-11 loss at Cornell two years ago. ‘But we pushed through (the wet conditions) today.’

SU’s win last night marked the first time since 1998 the Orangemen won at Schoellkopf Field. It also snapped a two-game losing streak at Cornell.

When asked if they’ll miss playing at Cornell, Vallone and Lindsay both gave a resounding ‘no.’

‘With the weather like this,’ Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni said, ‘Syracuse may be uninterested. The mindset of inclement weather typically tends to be in our advantage.’

But there was no home-field advantage for the Big Red last night. Cornell committed more turnovers than Syracuse in the sloppy conditions. The Orangemen scooped up more groundballs and outshot the Big Red, 42-37.

‘Two years ago we let the rain and cold get to us,’ Lindsay said. ‘This year we talked about it before the game. We said, ‘We’re going to be cold, but so are they.”

Pfantastic Pfeifer

Jay Pfeifer not only avoided making mistakes in the wet conditions. He flourished in them.

The SU goalie recorded five saves in the rainy first quarter, including two in the opening minute. Pfeifer finished with 12 saves on the evening.

‘When you shoot at him, he doesn’t give anything away,’ Cornell midfielder

Joe Boulukos said. ‘Anything stickside he usually eats up. He was a big difference on the offensive end for us.’

Boulukos should know, too. Pfeifer snatched one 10-yard shot of his out the air with SU holding a slim two-goal lead midway through the third quarter. He even got so comfortable to flip it behind his back to clear the ball and start an SU counterattack.

‘Jay always keeps us in it,’ Panarelli said. ‘He’s the best goalie I’ve ever played with. That’s just normal for Jay to make big saves.’

This and that

Officials stopped the game for five minutes with 12:30 left in the second quarter when a heavy fog settled on the field, nearly making it impossible to see the opposite stands. ‘I’ve never played in fog like that before,’ Vallone said. …Vallone delivered a monster hit – similar to a safety hitting a wide receiver over the middle – that sent Big Red midfielder Dave Bush to the sidelines for several minutes.

Published on April 13, 2004 at 12:00 pm