Pretty sure that's what Roosevelt said.

Down 2-0 early, one couldn't help but wonder if the 2012 season was truly about to turn into the sum of all fears and that the uncertainly about the midfield, the inexperience in goal and the lack of production from our face-off unit was about to send us spiraling into a chaotic free-fall where everything we know about Syracuse lacrosse would become undone in a matter of minutes.

Then the No. 8 Syracuse Orange lacrosse team went on a 10-goal run over a 41-minute span, erasing all doubt and winning 12-7 over the Albany Great Danes.

Junior midfielder JoJo Marasco scored all three of his goals in the first half and added a fourth-quarter assist, junior middie Ryan Barber and sophomore attackman Derek Matlz scored two goals, and senior attackman Tommy Palasek had three assists for Syracuse (1-0).

Redshirt freshman midfielder Hakeen Lecky also nabbed his first career goal.

Starting goalie Matt Lerman was excellent in the pipes, recording six saves, and replacement Dominic Lamolinara held his own for most of the second half en route to ten saves.

Syracuse led 10-2 after three quarters and the Danes basically worked their way back against the second unit at the end.

Box score and more here.

Up next for the 1-0 Orange are the Army Black Knights, who visit the Dome on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. and whom we still hate for beating us in the NCAA Tournament a few years back.

When they step on the field under the Dome on Sunday to open the season against the Albany Great Danes, the 2012 Syracuse Orange lacrosse team won't be very recognizable. Not to fans, not to opponents and not even to their head coach.

"You can barely recognize anybody on the field," Desko said of his lineup. "You think about the team we had last year and where we were ranked and how many close games we had (seven decided by two or fewer goals). And then you see the scrimmages and how many mistakes we’ve made when teams are trying to limit our possessions. We have to play very efficiently to be successful."

Thankfully, Albany has very different colors on their uniform. Otherwise, there's no telling how confused Desko might get telling players what to do.

The expectation is that this ragtag group of upstarts won't be the finely-tuned Syracuse lacrosse machine you're used to seeing, but they're still supposed to win the game. Ranked in the top ten by every preseason lacrosse poll, this Orange team might not be an elite one by our standard, but you're still talking about a collection of some damn good lax players.

Midfield seems to be the biggest question mark. JoJo Marasco, Bobby Eilers and Hakeem Lecky will take the first shift. Marasco shifts from the attack unit, where he was tied for the team lead with 41 points last year. Eilers led SU's second midfield line with eight goals last season and Lecky is a highly-touted redshirt freshman who likely would have played last year if not for a wrist injury.

Desko is extremely excited for what Lecky can bring to the table.

"Hakeem Lecky was with us last year, got hurt. We expected him to play a lot as the year went on, but because of the injury and when it happened and how long it lasted, we decided that he would redshirt, and I think he's got some good talent."

Middie Kevin Drew continues to miss time following his arrest in the off-season.

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As you remember, two former Syracuse Orange lacrosse stars, Sid Smith and Cody Jamieson, were involved in a brawl in a Minnesota TGI Friday's earlier in the week, leading to many more questions than answers.

Finally, we have some answers. And they are glorious.

One witness told police the lacrosse players were throwing food and other items at each other. One of the Knighthawk reportedly players threw a menu and hit a nearby a Foot Locker employee who was sitting with other co-workers. Police say the Foot Locker employee who was hit confronted the lacrosse player and the fight started after that.

A Foot Locker employee fighting in a TGI Friday's. We're an Auntie Anne pretzel slinger away from the mall trifecta.

The bigger issue came up when police officers were attempting to arrest Sid Smith and none of his Knighthawk teammates seemed to care much for how it was going down. Including Jamieson.

Police say while Smith was being handcuffed on the ground, another member of the Knighthawks, Cody Jamieson, 24, tried to stop the officer who was arresting Smith. After Jamieson refused to obey another police officer's order to sit down, Bloomington Police observed Jamieson about to hit one of the arresting officers. Jamieson was grabbed by police before he physically resisted arrest.

Yikers.

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NCAA lacrosse's Heisman Trophy, the Tewaaraton Award, has put out its men's and women's watch list for the 2012 season and Syracuse is all over both of them.

For the men, redshirt senior attackman Tim Desko, junior midfielder JoJo Marasco junior defenseman Brian Megill made the cut.

Desko was an All-Big East Second Team selection in 2010, recording 19 points on the year, including 16 goals in ten games. His season was limited by injuries.

Marasco is the current wearer of the famed No. 22 and looking to cement his status among the greats that have worn it. Last year he was named a USILA Honorable Mention All-American and All-Big East Second Team selection. He was tied for the team lead in points (41) and assists (18) and second in goals (23).

As you might imagine, it's pretty hard for a defenseman to win this award. Megill led all SU defenseman with 27 caused turnovers and was fourth on the squad in ground balls (34) last year. He was named to the All-Big East Second Team.

Syracuse has three previous Men's Tewaaraton Award courtesy of Mikey Powell ('02, '04) and Mike Leveille ('08).

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Five members of the Rochester Knighthawks pro lacrosse team were arrested early Monday morning in Bloomington, Minn., after a brawl at a TGI Friday’s restaurant.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, former Syracuse Orange stars Cody Jamieson and Sid Smith were among the brawlers, all of whom appeared in court Tuesday afternoon and then flew back to Rochester that night.

Knighthawks President Lewis Staats issued the following statement:

"According to media accounts, up to 30 people were involved in an altercation at a TGI Fridays in Bloomington, Minnesota on Monday. According to those same media accounts, up to seven people were taken into custody after the altercation. We can confirm that five of the people taken into custody were Rochester Knighthawk players. The five players appeared in court (Tuesday) and are on their way home. We are conducting our own investigation of the incident. As there is now an ongoing legal proceeding, we will not be issuing any further comment at this time."

Forget the police investigation, you guys. The Knighthawks are on the case...

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When word broke that Kevin Drew was back with the Syracuse Orange lacrosse team, let alone still an active student at the University, the fanbase did a collective look-away and just put their heads in the sand.

As a reminder, here's what Drew was charged with following a DWI arrest that ended with a cop kicking him in the chest: Driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest, driving through a stop sign, speeding, hit and run, failure to comply and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Even Marcus Sales was like, "Daaaaaamn."

That he's back with the program so quickly (three months later) made a lot of people wonder if he received special treatment because he's a lacrosse player. A recent Daily Orange article by Beckie Strum basically proves that the answer is...yes.

The article compares the DWI cases of Drew and Ryan Forman, whom you know better as the guy who drove his Range Rover into the Mount Olympus stairs a few month back.

Despite the fact that Forman was charged with far less infractions, had the same BAC as Drew and wasn't driving a car owned by a university employee, Forman is currently suspended from SU for the spring semester. Drew, who withdrew from SU following the October incident, was able to re-apply for spring.

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The Syracuse Orange lacrosse team might not be expected to win as many games this year as usual but they proved they can win twice in one day on Sunday when they beat Hofstra 7-5 and Le Moyne 11-5 in back-to-back scrimmages.

Of the 18 total goals on the day for Syracuse, 12 came from the midfield, arguably the team's biggest enigma heading into the season. After the games, SU head coach John Desko said the team is actually ahead of where it was last season in terms of knowing who the midfielders will be and what lines they will play on.

One of the big questions on the day was how goalie Matt Lerman would look in his first full-time action as the starting goalie. After a shaky start, the prognosis was...pretty good.

"I got a little shelled in there against Hofstra right away. I got the first, and that's the most important thing to me," Lerman said. "And as we say in practice, ‘The pipe's not a goal.'"

"I was happy with Matt," SU head coach John Desko said. "I thought he did a good job, and (it's) tough on him going out there for the very first time as a starting goaltender, but I thought we got a good performance out of Matt."

If you're looking for a starting lineup, it seems to stack up like this (roughly-speaking):

Midfield: JoJo Marasco, Bobby Eilers Hakeem Lecky

Attack: Derek Maltz, Tim Desko, Tommy Palasek

Defense: Brian Megill, Dave Hamlin, Kyle Carey, Matt Lerman (G)

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Syracuse Lacrosse, I have forsaken you. It's been a busy week, I'm sorry. But let's try to wrap get up to speed all neat and tidy-like, shall we?

Inside Lacrosse released it's preseason coaches’ and media polls at the beginning of the week and the Orange continue to find their starting point about as low as anyone can remember. They're eighth in the coaches poll and seventh in the media poll.

Virginia is your No. 1 in both, followed by Hopkins, Duke and Cornell in different orders. The points is, these are your preseason top four teams in the nation...and Syracuse will play all of them...away from the Carrier Dome.

The fearsome foursome Syracuse will face are Virginia in Charlottesville, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Cornell in Ithaca and Duke in the Meadowlands.

Overall, Syracuse will face six of the nine other teams in the top ten.

One team they'll play that isn't in the rankings is Rutgers. Usually, that game is played in New York or New Jersey for obvious reasons. This year? It's being played in...North Carolina?

The ESPNU Warrior Classic, a men’s college lacrosse doubleheader, has a new home at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., home of Major League Lacrosse’s Charlotte Hounds. The third annual event will be played April 14, and will feature Rutgers vs. No. 7 Syracuse in the first game at 11 a.m. followed by No. 11 Hofstra vs. No. 6 North Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPNU.

What of Kevin Drew, who seemingly lost his golden ticket to SU when he was arrested for multiple charges, including DWI, during the off-season? He's back with the team, though his troubles aren't over yet. Drew appeared in court this week and told he judge that he completed a 28-day treatment program for alcohol abuse, he now awaits a final decision.

Desko says that while Drew is back with the team, he's still got a lot of work to do.

“Kevin’s done quite a bit,” Desko said. “He wasn’t in school last semester, lost everything academically and financially. He’s not a full scholarship guy. So he’s done quite a bit and he’s going to continue to deal with the consequences. He has things he has to do here for the team and for the university.”

Finally, go check out some profile pieces on he-who-would-replace-John-Galloway, goalie Matt Lerman, Jamaican-born freshman Hakeem Lecky and former football star Brandon Mullins.

The season begins February 19th against Albany. Head over to College Crosse for more lax coverage.