Rock bottom?

When it comes to the Syracuse Smash, which fell to the Toronto Rock 19-12 Saturday night before an announced crowd of 4,237 at the War Memorial - its 16th loss to 20 games spanning two seasons - the bottom is hard to find. But consider these murky developments in Syracuse's fourth consecutive loss:

The Smash (2-6) failed to cash in on a two-man power-play advantage in the opening minutes, something nearly unheard of in the high-scoring National Lacrosse League.

The Smash was blanked in the opening quarter, something akin to an NBA team being held to single figures in a quarter. By the time Charlie Lockwood finally solved Rock goalie Bob Watson with 13 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half, Toronto was ahead 8-0.

The Rock, the NLL's lowest-scoring team at 11.4 goals per game, had 10 at halftime, including three in 30 seconds five minutes into the game that opened the floodgates. Its 19-goal total exceeded its previous season high by three goals.

The Smash was penalized twice for having too many men on the floor; each time Toronto scored.

A second-quarter gamble backfired on the Smash, giving Toronto an empty-net goal with 8 seconds left in the half. With 25 seconds left and the Smash in possession, Syracuse called timeout and pulled goalie Jim Rankin, giving it an extra attacker. Jim Veltman promptly intercepted a Smash pass and sprinted downfield alone at the empty net, beating a sprawling Paul Gait, whose impromptu debut in goal ended in failure.

They were just the lowlights. Overall, the Rock (5-3), perhaps the NLL's biggest team, beat up the Smash physically, scoring easy goals on offense with punishing picks and denying Syracuse on defense with heavy body checks.

"That's a big team," Smash bench coach Freeman Bucktooth said. "And they pushed our guys around. They seemed to know when to apply the pressure and when to get back and play defense."

"The physical part didn't hurt us nearly as much as the mental part," Lockwood, who scored twice and assisted on three other Syracuse goals, said. "We made so many stupid penalties it was unbelievable. And it seemed as if they capitalized every time."

Aside from a spirited relief effort from Rankin, who replaced starter Derek Collins midway through the first quarter, the Smash was stuck in neutral for most of the game with the exception of a decent second-quarter spurt in which it narrowed the gap to 9-7. The empty-net goal then seemed to let the air of Syracuse, which never threatened after halftime.

Bucktooth said he started the game with a new system, in which everybody played offense and defense as opposed to the normal system of having offensive and defensive specialists complemented by a few transition players going both ways.

"It was just a nightmare," he admitted. "I don't want to be a second-guesser, but when we went back to the old system we started to score goals and get going. It was too late by then."

The loss put the Smash in the same desperate situation it was during its inaugural season, when it went 2-10 and finished in dead last in the seven-team league. It must win its final four games to finish .500 and perhaps slip into a playoff berth.

That the loss came to Toronto, another second-year team that apparently is heading in the opposite direction, made it even tougher to swallow; Syracuse's next game, on March 26, is a rematch at Maple Leaf Gardens, where Toronto is 4-0.

The Rock plays the traditional Canadian style of box lacrosse that Syracuse tried but failed to emulate last season. Saturday night, the Smash proved it doesn't have the American style of game it adopted this season mastered, either.

"We've put ourselves in a really bad position," Lockwood said. "It was a crucial game, and we just didn't execute mentally."

Game stats currently unavailable. If you can provide official stats, please e-mail the Outsider's Guide at raphilly@usa.net.