John Galloway came to Wohl Field for practice Tuesday afternoon with a lot to say. As he approached senior attack Chris Daniello, the chirping began.

‘Oh my God, player of the week, Chris Daniello,’ said Galloway, a grin on his face. ‘Nike Player of the Week, Chris Daniello.’

But the soft-spoken Daniello had a retort of his own.

‘You are the player of the year candidate,’ Daniello said. ‘I just have the weekly honor, you are going for the whole year award.’

And with that exchange, the depth of the Syracuse University lacrosse team came through.

The Orange boasts seven players who have at least 15 points this season. Through 11 games, six different players have led the team in points. SU is tied with Virginia for the most Tewaaraton Trophy nominees with four.

But this Saturday, when the No. 1 Orange (10-1, 3-0 Big East) take on a winless Providence (0-11, 0-3) squad on Senior Day at 2 p.m. at the Carrier Dome, the team hopes a new dimension of their depth will have a chance to shine.

Junior long-stick midfielder Joel White said he hopes some other players get a chance to show they can play, too.

‘We have a bunch of seniors on this team who have done a lot, and they work so hard every single day,’ White said. ‘Hopefully we can get a couple goals up on Providence, and they can get in and have fun out there.’

Of the 10 seniors on the Syracuse roster, only four players — Max Bartig, Matt Tierney, Cody Jamieson and Daniello — have seen consistent playing time this season. Bartig only appeared in 10 games last season and Cody Jamieson in six, after transferring from Onondaga Community College.

But it is the rest of the seniors — Al Cavalieri, Joe Coulter, Gavin Jenkinson, Tyler Hlawati and Brandon Conlin — that have limited game experience.

Jenkinson has taken the most faceoffs on the team and has won 57 percent of them. Coulter and Hlawati have appeared in all 11 games this season and each has scooped up nine ground balls. And if you ask Galloway, his backup Cavalieri could start just about anywhere else.

‘The group has come a long way,’ said SU head coach John Desko. ‘They didn’t help us immediately as freshman. They had to pay their dues and stick with the system and work hard to get better to be able to help this team this year.’

Though on paper the seniors are contributing the most this season since their arrival at SU, they have provided advice and guidance all along.

None was more important than what they told the class below them after they experienced a 5-8 season in 2007. White said he still feels the effects of what these seniors told his class after that year.

‘I am really proud of how they brought us freshman up,’ White said. ‘We wouldn’t be the team we are right now without them. They said we don’t want another 5-8 season so we better turn things around.’

Since then, the senior class has gone a combined 42-5 and won two national championships.  

Galloway is a member of the class with White, who heard the advice loud and clear. Three years later, it is about giving back to those seniors.

‘We are excited for the seniors to have their last day in the Dome,’ Galloway said. ‘We want to send them off the right way.’

And hopefully for the Orange, that way will show another dimension of the SU depth. A dimension that goes beyond Tierney, Bartig and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week in Daniello.

‘The whole class has really come on hot this season,’ Galloway said. ‘There are a lot of key guys in that group like Bartig and Tierney. But those are just to name a few. We are going to send them off the way they deserve.’

restern@syr.edu