Virginia’s Michael Kraus watched from the ground as Peter Dearth raced up the field. After SU defender Nick Mellen forced a Kraus turnover, Dearth scooped the ground ball and led transition for SU.

As Dearth quickly advanced closer and closer to the net, no UVA defenders slid over. On the run from 10-yards out, Dearth fired a shot past Virginia goalie Alex Rode to open the scoring in the first round of the ACC tournament semifinal.

“I haven’t scored very much this year, so I figured they wouldn’t respect me as a shooter,” Dearth said. “I just kind of took it right at it and was able to get close enough to get a good shot.”

Dearth’s second goal of the season provided an early boost for SU. Despite Syracuse’s eventual loss, Dearth has emerged as a key two-way midfielder for the No. 8-seeded Orange (8-6, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) heading into the NCAA tournament.

“We’ve been searching for those guys who are going to step up at the short-stick position,” Desko said. “Dearth fills in well with his spots.”

There were high expectations for Dearth when the season began. He opened the 2018 campaign on the first midfield line alongside Jamie Trimboli and Tucker Dordevic, but he was replaced by freshman Brendan Curry after SU’s loss to Johns Hopkins. Through five games, Dearth had three assists and no goals on eight shots.

As other players continued to rise up the depth chart on the offensive midfield, Dearth continued to drop. In response, Dearth said he asked Syracuse head coach John Desko if he could play more short-stick defense, the position he played all of last year despite enrolling at SU as an offensive midfielder.

“I thought (defense) suited me physically and athletically better,” Dearth said. “It’s been easier for me to be confident when I’m playing.”

Dearth has also seen an increased role on the faceoff wing. Against North Carolina, Dearth scooped three ground balls and relentlessly slapped UNC sticks away from them, leading to Desko praising Dearth’s play in the post-game press conference following the 13-12 home win.

“Peter Dearth was excellent on the wing today,” Desko said following the game. “He did a great job.”

Dearth gives SU a multi-faceted weapon on the wings, Desko said. It means that Syracuse does not have to use two poles on faceoffs, and should SU lose the faceoffs, Dearth is a “fairly strong defensive midfielder,” who can stay on the field.

Dearth also provides the faceoff unit an added boost offensively as the recipient of faceoff specialist Danny Varello’s passes, and by cleaning up ground balls, which lead to fast breaks.

“He came in as an offensive middie with an offensive mindset,” Mellen said. “He knows what to do with the ball probably a little bit more than most.”

While some defensive midfielders on Syracuse obtain possession and immediately look to an offensive outlet, Dearth carries a scorer’s mindset. He first showed this against Duke when he forced a Blue Devils turnover.  He then sprinted into the middle of the field, 15 yards away from Duke goalie Danny Fowler, before shooting off a crow-hop and bouncing it past the right side of Fowler for his first goal of the year.

That goal handed SU an early advantage against the Blue Devils, something it needed to stay in the game and eventually pull off the team’s biggest win of the season. When he found himself in a similar situation against UVA, he provided the same result.

“It was something that I’ve always dreamed of,” Dearth said, “playing a night game at Klockner and scoring the first goal.”

Earlier in the season, when Dearth struggled offensively and was booted from the first midfield line, he might not have had the confidence he does now to take that shot, he said. With the NCAA tournament less than a week away, SU will rely on him to continue to make those types of plays.

Published on May 8, 2018 at 9:29 pm

Contact Matt: mdliberm@syr.edu