During Syracuse’s run to the national semifinals last year, Emily Resnick never missed a game. She religiously tuned in for each one on television, her computer or sometimes even buying an online viewing subscription.

As she watched her future teammates, the thought of starting never crossed her mind. A life-long Syracuse fan from Webster, New York, which is about 75 miles from Syracuse, Resnick was merely counting down the days to standing on the sideline.

Now a year later, Resnick has established herself as a starter for the Orange as a freshman.
“Taking the field for the first time was indescribable,” Resnick said. “Nothing beats it playing here and I never thought I would be in the role I am now.”

Though inherently talented at passing and finishing, work in the offseason has paid off for Resnick, who has started in each of SU’s first six games. She’s started five alongside captains Erica Bodt and Taylor Gait. So far she’s scored three goals and dished out three assists. No. 2 Syracuse (5-1) will continue to rely on her creativity and consistent play in the midfield Saturday at No. 7 Virginia (4-1).

While head coach Gary Gait said he considers both of his midfield lines to be equal, Resnick’s style complements Gait and Bodt on the starting line in a way that made it impossible to ignore. The freshman plays on the left side of the midfield and said that with Bodt and Gait’s tendency to make cuts, her passing fits right in.

“She’s got great skills, she doesn’t make many mistakes,” Gait said. “She’s very consistent and is going to have a huge career here at Syracuse.”

Resnick still felt overwhelmed during the fall, even though her skill set fit. Practices were high energy with music blaring from the speakers in Ensley Athletic Center and coaches made one thing clear: all drills would be run at top speed and there would be no plays taken off.

Syracuse runs far more set plays on offense than Resnick’s high school team and the defensive scheme has changed too.

“Yeah, I fit in with Taylor and Erica, and we’ve been playing well together lately,” Resnick said. “It’s taken a lot to get to this point though.”

Despite the tough adjustment, Resnick has been able to fall back on the lessons she learned from Bodt in the off-season as part of the “step-up buddies” program, designed to help freshman players transition to the rigors of college lacrosse by pairing each incoming player with an older player.

Resnick and Bodt called and texted back and forth regularly throughout the summer, exchanging workout plans, lacrosse drills and setting individual and team goals for the season. Bodt helped shape Resnick’s offseason plans to model her own.

After Resnick scored her second goal of the season in a 16-5 win over Marist on Feb. 21 in the Carrier Dome, Bodt embraced her step-up buddy. But so far, Resnick hasn’t just stepped up, she’s been able to establish herself.

“(The program) kind of gets them in the competitive mindset and coming in and showing their hard work to the coaches and to the other players,” Bodt said. “… watching her, it puts a big smile on my face, like that’s my step-up buddy.”

Published on March 2, 2016 at 9:28 pm

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu