Jovan Miller does not usually watch film of upcoming opponents.

He prefers to watch tape of ‘old-school’ games in an attempt to pick up the philosophies behind lacrosse. Miller tries to gather information about different strategies to make himself a smarter player on the field.

Tuesday afternoon Miller was in the film room watching last season’s quarterfinal victory over Maryland. It just so happens that the Terrapins are next on the schedule for Syracuse.

So why the sudden change in tactics?

‘Maryland was a school I really wanted to go to before I made my decision to come to ‘Cuse, so there is a little something personal behind it,’ the junior midfielder Miller said.

As a high school sophomore, Miller set his sights on playing at Maryland one day. He wants to ultimately teach in Baltimore, and thus the location of the school was appealing. But when junior year rolled around, Miller never heard back.

Miller is not the only one itching to play the Terrapins in the final preseason scrimmage at noon today in the Carrier Dome. After struggling at times in the first two scrimmages against Le Moyne and Hofstra, the Orange is looking to use this final tune-up to assess how it matches up with another big-name program.

Maryland is ranked No. 7 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association preseason coaches poll, the same poll that notched Syracuse as the No. 1 team in the nation.

Last season the Orange knocked off Maryland in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. The Terrapins were not at full strength and are expected to come into the Carrier Dome with revenge on their minds. Though it is a scrimmage, there is no denying the fact that each team will be ready to play.

‘I expect them to show up – even though it is just a scrimmage – to be real fired up,’ senior defenseman Matt Tierney said. ‘I know they are going to be coming hard for us because we did give them a good time last year.’

In addition to the rivalry, the Orange must prove it has learned from the previous two scrimmages. Turnovers haunted SU as the challenges that come with getting a new group to gel together were visible.

‘This past Sunday was a big eye-opener for us,’ junior captain Joel White said. ‘We had too many turnovers, didn’t finish well and didn’t communicate. We need this matchup against a better opponent to get better.’

At lacrosse media day on Jan. 14, SU head coach John Desko explained that this is a team very capable of being great, it is just a matter of when. With the regular season slated to begin Feb. 19 at the Carrier Dome against Denver, Syracuse hopes that ‘when’ is getting close.

After a week of film and learning from what they did wrong, the Orange is just happy to have another rehearsal before the regular season starts.

‘I am glad we played Sunday, and I am glad we play on Friday,’ White said. ‘It left a bad taste in my mouth even though it was just a scrimmage. Against Maryland, we need to show we can bounce back from not a very good day on Sunday.’

restern@syr.edu