Lisa Rogers would think about her leg instead of lacrosse.

She’d think about it while running. She’d think about it in between the 30-yard lines. She’d think — and then hesitate — when there was no reason to.

Rogers was part of a second-line midfield that was still learning how to play together. She was fully recovered physically from an ACL injury, but still wasn’t playing her best.

“I was more of a support player (last year) because it was more of a mental block than a physical block,” Rogers said.

Now, a year later, Rogers is at the peak of her game. She’s not afraid to take risks and instead of thinking, she’s just playing.

Rogers missed her entire freshman season due to the ACL injury and spent her sophomore year learning on the job as part of the second line with Kelly Cross and Erica Bodt. Now on the first line, Rogers will continue to play a prominent role for the No. 2 Orange (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) when it takes on Connecticut (1-2) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

After four of Syracuse’s contributing midfielders graduated, the three juniors have moved up to the first line this season.

The trio was in a rut last year, Cross said. They struggled with communication on the field and Rogers’ hesitancy didn’t help. Everyone knew what they were capable of, but they weren’t performing that way.

The turning point came during fall ball.

Syracuse hosted a tournament and scrimmaged against other colleges. That’s when Rogers first exuded the conviction to fit into SU’s starting lineup as the midfielders started to spark the offense.

“It was kind of a question of whether she would gain that confidence in the offseason,” Cross said, “but she came in in the fall and you could just tell she was ready to prove something.”

Through four games, the starting middies have combined for 17 points, which is already nearly half of what they totaled last year. While Rogers only has four of those, it’s her intangibles that have opened the offense up for Cross and Bodt.

Rogers said she’s at her best in between each restraining line. On rides, she slides to the ball-carrier and provides pressure. On clears, she has the ability to fly past the other team without even passing the ball.

“She’s confident and the game’s slowed down for her a bit,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “She understands what she’s doing and she’s in a good position as a starter to go out and make plays.”

Against Canisius on Feb. 15, Rogers got the ball in her own end off a turnover, charged through the center of the field and raced past two Canisius defenders. To avoid losing the ball, she extended her stick out with one hand as they both tumbled to the turf unable to keep up. The crowd roared after she executed the clear all by herself and then she dumped the ball off to SU’s highly touted attack.

When Syracuse trailed Virginia 4-1 on Monday, the Orange’s offense was stagnant. After Gait called timeout 15 minutes into the game, it was Rogers who scored SU’s second goal, beginning a 5-0 run to take the lead and UVA never got it back.

Rogers embraces the role as a go-to player. She says that having teammates rely on her forces her to raise her level of play.

She got a tally in the box score, something she doesn’t normally do, but it’s not the first new thing she’s doing this season.

“She held her own, but she wasn’t back at that level that everyone kind of knew she could play at,” Cross said. “That’s why it’s really exciting this year, she’s just stepped up her game tremendously.

“She’s better than ever now.”

Published on February 25, 2015 at 12:07 am

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds