Gary Gait is looking for Michelle Tumolo to do three things: dodge, feed her teammates and finish. He needs her to accomplish all three of these things within her role at attack so no matter what the situation, the team can get the ball into the net.

‘That’s always been one of our needs from behind the cage,’ Gait said.

After having the highest single-season totals in points (74) and assists (37) for a freshman in program history a season ago, Tumolo has been off to a slower start this season. She is lagging behind the total number of points she had at this time last year, with 27 points through eight games. And her team is off to a slow start, too, with just a 3-5 record after being ranked No. 5 in preseason. Gait said her continued success, as well as that of the team, relies on her ability to master those three elements to combat the level of pressure she’s seeing in her second season.

Although Gait admits this is a tall order for the sophomore — he said he has never had a player proficient at all three tasks — he said if anyone can do it, Tumolo can.

‘Last year she was able to be a feeder, and a lot of teams didn’t go pressure her behind, and it allowed her to have a lot of success,’ Gait said. ‘But now they’re pressuring her behind and making it tougher. And when that happens, you’ve got to become a dodger.’

As Tumolo reacts to increased attention, she has trouble ignoring her feeder instincts. She relies more on her strong passing abilities as opposed to capitalizing on opportunities herself and scoring more goals, as Gait would like her to do. Her struggles have mirrored those of her team as a whole.

Tumolo’s problems stem from the pressure she’s encountered from opposing defenses. After her banner freshman season, as well as the time she spent playing for the U.S. national team, the attention is hardly a surprise. Nonetheless, senior attack Tee Ladouceur said the defensive focus on Tumolo was giving her some trouble.

‘She’s been face-guarded a lot this year,’ Ladouceur said. ‘And there’s a lot more pressure being put on her by other teams’ defenses, so I think it’s a little harder for her.’

Tumolo’s reaction has been to fall back on what she said she knows and loves: assisting. Last season she finished 11th in the nation with 37 assists. But this season, she does not have the same assist totals. The added defensive pressure keeps her from completing the passes that set up SU goals so often last season.

But Tumolo remains slightly hesitant to take on the ‘dodging’ role and drive to the net.

‘Gary (Gait) keeps telling me I need to go to goal,’ Tumolo said. ‘I don’t know why. I love assisting, so I look to pass before I shoot. But I do need to go to goal more.’

In recent games against No. 2 Northwestern and Rutgers, Tumolo has been better about embracing her three jobs. She combined for four goals and six assists in the two games, equating to one Syracuse win and one loss.

The team’s next game is not until Monday at Dartmouth, so Tumolo can use the time to practice that offensive aggression.

Ladouceur said she began seeing improvements in her fellow attack even in the games before Northwestern.

‘She’s been playing through it, and in the past few games, she’s had a couple goals and a couple assists,’ Ladouceur said. ‘And I think she’s on her way to becoming even better this season.’

As Gait and his team look to improve their record and put together two consecutive wins for the first time this season, the pressure will be on Tumolo to execute. When she gets shut down by a defender, she has to beat her defender one-on-one instead of looking to pass, Gait said.

Gait said having a player who can feed, dodge and finish will put Syracuse on a level with the best teams in the nation.

‘The top three or four teams, they have success because there’s somebody to score from behind,’ Gait said. ‘You go to double (team), they become a feeder. You leave them open when you slide up top, they become a finisher. That’s what we need.’

alguggen@syr.edu