With Army coming to the Carrier Dome on Sunday afternoon, John Desko was keeping tabs on the Black Knights’ game at Marist on Tuesday. He wasn’t thrilled with what he saw.

“We were rooting for them,” Desko said drolly one day after Army’s 17-9 mid-week loss. “We know they’re going to come in with a lot of incentive. That’s a team we’ve played a lot over the years, and we know Army never quits. You have to really roll up your sleeves and make the most of your opportunities.”

The same could be said of dealing with the Orange, who have handled Colgate (21-14) and Binghamton (17-4) in their first two outings. One of Desko’s hopes in the offseason was that after playing plenty of younger players over the last two seasons, those guys would look like the veterans they should be at this stage.

There’s no shortage of options, and midfield depth appears to be an asset based on Syracuse’s early returns. Jamie Trimboli (six goals) and Brendan Curry (five goals) have anchored the first line, with Tucker Dordevic (who had 20 points as a freshman in 2018 before missing last year due to a foot injury) working his way back into the mix.

The second line was also productive the first two weekends, with Lucas Quinn (four goals, two assists) anchoring an all-junior group alongside Jacob Buttermore and David Lipka.

The centerpiece, unsurprisingly, is Loyola transfer Chase Scanlan, who has nine goals and three assists in his first two games wearing the Orange’s famed No. 22 jersey.

“We thought we were going to miss [Bradley] Voigt with him scoring so many goals — he was our leading scorer [with 35] a year ago,” Desko said. “To have Scanlan come in and fill that void is certainly encouraging.”

At the other end of the field, Syracuse is dealing with an injury to one of its best players. Senior defenseman Nick Mellen, a third team All-America pick last season, was hurt in the opener and sat out last week’s blowout.

“It’s going to be a week-to-week thing,” Desko said. “He’s responded pretty well. I don’t care to guess when he’ll be back. We expect him back at some point in the season.”

Hounds Holding up on D

Loyola coach Charley Toomey knew some areas of his roster would have to figure things out on the fly. The progress the Greyhounds made from the opener to their second outing provides more than a little optimism for what this season could hold.

After a rocky first half at Virginia, Loyola has surrendered 10 goals in its last six quarters. Junior goalie Sam Shafer, who played sparingly early in his career behind the graduated Jacob Stover, sports a .612 save percentage entering Saturday’s meeting with Rutgers.

“In the Virginia game, there’s two shots I think he’d like to have back and maybe one against Johns Hopkins [in a 10-7 victory last week],” Toomey said. “When I chart our goals allowed, in two games there’s only three shots he could have or should have had. On the flip side, I think he bailed us out more than three times. He stole a few in both games that were Stover-esque.”

The fascinating part of Shafer’s start is that Loyola didn’t expect him to replicate what Stover did as a first team All-America selection last season. It took Stover four seasons to get to that point, and earlier in his career, he was capable and promising but supported by a veteran defense.

Loyola’s close unit is a bit older and intriguingly deeper than last season. Redshirt-sophomore Kyle LeBlanc held Hopkins senior Cole Williams without a point Saturday, a major step for a player who missed all of 2018 with injury and appeared in only six games last season.

“We have three guys [on the field], and we have to manage minutes for five guys,” Toomey said. “What Kyle did warrants him getting significant playing time as much as John Railey, who has come back, Alex Johnson and Cam Wyers.”

The fifth option is redshirt-sophomore Matt Hughes, who missed all of last season because of injury. Toomey said Hughes was “close to back,” and his versatility could be valuable against a potent Rutgers attack on Saturday.

Senior-laden Friars on Fire

Providence has 11 seniors on its roster, hardly an unusual number for a Division I team. But one thing about them stands out to coach Chris Gabrielli.

“All of them play, which is not typical in Division I by any means,” he said. “You’d like it to be that way. This year, that’s the way it’s worked out. They’re at all positions, whether it’s short-stick defensive middie or attack or a faceoff guy or offensive midfield or close defense. We have seniors all over the place. We truly believe the process isn’t just week by week and month by month or year by year. It’s definitely a four-year process.”

The omnipresent experience has helped the Friars bolt to a 3-0 start, their first since 2013, entering Saturday’s trip to Saint Joseph’s.

Two of the seniors, Rob Stovel and Nick Tommasi, start in front of the one position without much experience. But junior Toby Burgdorf has had little trouble settling in as long-time starter Tate Boyce’s replacement.

Burgdorf is tied for second nationally in save percentage (.679) and is third in goals-against average (6.00) entering the weekend, and Gabrielli said he’s played his best in the fourth quarter. The numbers would tend to agree; Burgdorf has made 16 fourth-quarter saves while allowing five goals for a .762 save percentage.

“He’s been in our program for two years,” Gabrielli said. “He was in every film session despite the fact he was playing behind Tate, in every weight room session working hard. It’s not like we’re throwing a very green freshman in there. It’s nice to have an older, more mature guy there. I’m really proud of how he’s started the season.

At the other end of the field, sophomore Matt Grillo (11 goals, three assists) is the early headliner for the Friars, but he also benefits from experience around him. When fully healthy, five of the top six options in Providence’s midfield are seniors, and the Friars have proven adept so far at keeping defenses moving and eventually finding Grillo near the crease.

“He has that knack,” Gabrielli said. “If he has the ball by the cage, he’s disappointed in himself if he doesn’t put it away. He’s a natural scorer. Our team sees that ability in him, and we try and get him the ball in spots where he can score.”