Dan Hardy doesn’t care where he plays. He feels confident about his abilities regardless of where he’s standing on the field, and his performance against Albany on Friday night proved it.

Hardy started at midfield and blasted three goals in SU’s 17-13 win over the Great Danes, the tally matching his career high. Hardy began the season on Syracuse’s attack line, but midfielder Pat Perritt’s departure from Syracuse has forced Hardy to the midfield the past two games. The position switch doesn’t seem to have hindered his ability to find the back of the net.

‘I felt great running out there,’ Hardy said. ‘I just want to be on the field the entire time. Everyone was clicking, and it just felt great to be out there.’

Entering the game, Albany head coach Scott Marr decided he would assign a short-stick midfielder to defend Hardy. Marr didn’t think Hardy was as quick as his fellow midfielders, Steven Brooks and Greg Rommel. Marr wrote his game plan around stopping the latter two with his long-pole midfielders.

‘It’s pick your poison with this team,’ Marr said. ‘When they throw Brooks and Rommel out there with Hardy, you really can pull any one of them and they’re probably all No. 1 middies. It’s a luxury they have.’

Hardy quickly made the Great Danes pay with two unassisted scores in the first quarter. He tied the game at 2-2 in the first quarter when he sprinted to his right and fooled his defender badly with a quick spin back to his left. The preseason All-American then unleashed a ferocious long-range shot that beat Albany goaltender Brett Queener.

Hardy notched his second goal with the exact same move later in the period, this time along the left sideline. His tight-angle shot put SU ahead, 5-3.

‘I saw I had a shorty (short stick midfielder) on me, and I had a good feeling,’ Hardy said. ‘When a shorty’s on me, I feel like I can take him any time.’

Hardy completed his hat-trick with 7:28 to go in the third period, when he scored off a Rommel feed to give the Orange a 13-12 lead. The sophomore tallied three scores in SU’s season-opening win over Hobart and three games later against Georgetown.

Hardy isn’t new to the midfield. Season-ending injuries to Brooks and Rommel last year prompted Syracuse head coach John Desko to start Hardy on the first midfield line, and he responded with 11 goals and 10 assists.

His experience last year helped him adjust to playing away from the cage, instead of behind the cage.

‘It’s not that big of a change for me, playing there all of last year,’ Hardy said. ‘It’s basically the same thing. You’re just seeing the field a little bit differently.’

Hardy’s performance Friday night was tarnished only by his occasional vulnerability on defense. Albany midfielder Jordan Levine collected the ball on the right sideline as the third quarter began, with Hardy defending him.

Levine sprinted past Hardy and got an open look on the Orange cage. He then fired a close-range shot past SU goalie Pete Coluccini to narrow the Syracuse lead to 11-9.

‘Obviously, I’m more of an offensive player,’ Hardy said. ‘We talk a lot out there on defense, and I know the people have my back. It’s all about trust, I guess. I don’t think we do too bad on it.’

Published on April 22, 2007 at 12:00 pm