JoJo Marasco was counted on as one of Syracuse’s most reliable scorers last season. He recorded a point in all but one of the Orange’s games, despite spending the season transitioning to midfield.

During the scrimmages Saturday, though, Marasco was back behind the net, and setting up chances for his teammates.

“He does a very nice job on inverts,” SU head coach John Desko said. “He can dodge against a pole or a short stick.”

Marasco dished out three assists in the opening 15-10 win over Hofstra then followed it up with a goal and two assists in limited action of a 16-6 win against Holy Cross. The midfielder twice assisted Luke Cometti in the opener, plus one to Derek Maltz, primarily from the attack position behind the net.

It’s a familiar place on the field for the attack-turned-midfielder, and it yielded the sort of results that were expected from the senior when he first arrived at Syracuse.

“I do feel comfortable back there,” Marasco said. “I’ve played attack all my life, so the fact that I get to go back there and Coach (Kevin) Donahue and Coach Desko are giving me the opportunity to do that is real exciting.”

Marasco’s ability to make plays in the midfield was highlighted by a laser of a goal in the win over Holy Cross. And the plethora of assists from behind the net to cutting teammates showed just how invaluable he is to the Orange.

His scoring ability is well documented, but on Saturday Desko said Marasco showcased that he “can find the open guy.” And he did so effortlessly.

In the first quarter of the game against the Pride, Marasco found a cutting Maltz for a goal with 5:26 remaining. Less than five minutes later he found Cometti on a similar play. On each, Marasco was playing in more of an attack position, waiting for the cutters to work their way through the slot in front of the net.

While he’s still listed as a midfielder and that’ll be a major role he plays, Marasco sees himself playing behind the net because his coaches have faith in him to not let up on his defensive duties. He can pass, shoot, and defend, and SU isn’t squandering any opportunities to let him play to his full potential.

“I’ll be coming out of the midfield box because I can play a little bit of defense, too,” Marasco said. “I’ve been working on it for three years now with Coach (Lelan) Rogers, but they have the faith in me to go behind and still get back on defense.”

Published on January 26, 2013 at 6:44 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2