Nick Piroli “dropped out of the sky” for Syracuse, head coach John Desko said, but a week later the ground ripped him away.

Piroli was in practice inside the Ensley Athletic Center when he tripped and an all-too familiar feeling came back. It had happened before, his junior year at Brown. A torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee sidelined him for the entire year. This time it was the other knee, just one game (one start) into the season, and he feared it happened again.

“Right when it happened, I kind of knew something was wrong with it,” Piroli said. “It felt the exact same … I guess I kind of knew exactly what it was.”

Doctors confirmed Piroli’s self-diagnosis of a torn PCL in his right knee. The attack had come to Syracuse to use his final year of eligibility as a graduate student, but now, he thought, that had just been taken away.

And yet, a month and a half later, Piroli returned against Notre Dame on April 2. He’s played sparingly in each game since then, including about 10 to 15 minutes against Colgate on May 7 — his most time since the first game of the year. Though he began the season as a starter, Piroli is happy enough to have made it back onto the field, even as a backup. With potentially one game left in his college career, eighth-seeded Syracuse’s (11-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) NCAA tournament first round matchup with Albany (12-3, 6-0 America East) in the Carrier Dome on Sunday, Piroli wants to make the most of the limited time he has left.

“I think he looks great out there,” said midfielder Tim Barber, who moved up to attack to replace Piroli. “… It’s great to have him back. He’s another threat on our offense that we can use as well as give Jordan (Evans), me and Dylan (Donahue) a break if we need one.”

Piroli took his own two-week break after the injury to rest. He was back on a treadmill, testing out his knee and trying to get back into shape soon after that. While Piroli sat out, Desko described him as “week-to-week,” “out momentarily,” but added that he expected him back by the end of the season.

When it first happened, Piroli was down on himself, not knowing if he’d be able to make it back. Not knowing if his college career had ended on the turf in practice. But when the chance for him to come back emerged, he was “pumped up” about getting another shot.

He worked with the trainers and strength coaches to rehab nearly every day. While he wasn’t playing, he felt like he had to do something, so he lifted weights more than usual. He sat on the sideline at practice and studied the offense he had been thrust into a few weeks earlier.

“I definitely learned some of the movements and motions in the offense I might not have learned if I was actually doing the offense,” Piroli said

He still does several stretches, leg exercises and rides a stationary before practices and games to help his knee. Piroli won’t put a percentage on where he’s at, but said he’s “getting closer to full percentage.”

He picked up an assist against Colgate on Saturday, sporting a brace on his right knee as he has since his return. Since his return, Piroli’s limits have also been on display.

Piroli was pressuring Raiders goalie Brandon Burke hard on the ride, but Burke cut left, forcing Piroli to plant and change directions on his damaged knee. The goalie ran past with ease.

“I don’t think we’re getting a great dodge out of him right now,” Desko said, “but he’s in there and he’s not making mistakes.”

Before the start of the season, Desko described getting Piroli — a graduate transfer who could come in and start for a team that had a lot to replace on offense — as a gift. Now, Piroli expresses the same attitude toward just being able to see the field, if only for a few minutes each game.

After all, it’s better than the alternative.

“I’m just going to try to make the most of this, this last month that I have left,” Piroli said. “Whether it’s playing here or there or having a bigger role or anything really. I just want to make the most of it.”

Published on May 13, 2016 at 2:00 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus