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Syracuse picked up its second straight win, 22-6, over St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night to improve to 5-4. Fourteen different players scored for SU, including hat tricks from Alex Simmons and Owen Hiltz. The Orange scored on 17 of the 20 shots they fired on goal, and after leading 8-3 at halftime, scored nine unanswered goals in the third quarter.

SU returned Saturday against another nonconference foe, longtime rival Hobart, after it beat Providence last weekend. Syracuse used a 6-0 run in the first quarter to open up a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, and outscored the Statesmen 9-3 in the second half to win 18-7. Michael Leo (three goals) and Joey Spallina (four goals, two assists) led the Orange’s attack, while goalie Will Mark dazzled again, finishing with 14 saves.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (6-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) easy win over Hobart (4-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10):

First-quarter run opens up comfortable lead

Syracuse trailed by two goals five minutes into the game after Hobart’s John Jude Considine and Chad Bach worked from X to in front of goals, where they each slipped the ball past Mark.

That lead disappeared quickly, though, with SU rattling off six straight goals over the rest of the first quarter to open up a four-goal lead. Spallina provided the first answer, taking the ball out of bounds to the side of the cage, where defenseman Michael Christiansen shut him off. But even with his back to the goal, Spallina glanced over his left shoulder, then flicked his stick over his right, notching one of the top highlight reel goals Syracuse has seen all season.

Four more goals came over the next four minutes, with the southpaw Leo recording two — both times moving to his left, but the first going low past goalie Elhanan Wilson, and the second going over him and just under the crossbar. Jackson Birtwistle stuck one in the top left corner, and Hiltz scored from the right wing.

Then, with 27 seconds left, midfielder Cole Kirst tried dodging right but spun left, patiently waiting for a shooting angle to open up. When one did, Kirst’s shot went just a few inches over Wilson’s stick, which sat horizontally hoping to stop the ball near the post.

A change at the X

For almost every draw this season, sophomore Johnny Richiusa has trotted out to the X to try and win Syracuse possession. But in nearly every game — save the UAlbany and St. Bonaventure games — Richiusa has struggled, his face-off percentage finishing under 50%. Head coach Gary Gait said Tuesday SU has tried everything he knows of in practice to improve its face-off success, just hoping that will translate to better in-game numbers.

Richiusa went 10-for-17 against the Bonnies, but proceeded to last his first four attempts against Hobart. As a result, Gary Gait benched him in favor of backup Jack Fine, who entered the day 20-of-45 this season. Fine fared better, going 9-for-17 while also collecting four ground balls, before Richiusa returned midway through the fourth quarter in garbage time.

The X has been the biggest area Syracuse has struggled in this season, and whether Fine or Richiusa sees the majority of draws next Saturday against No. 1 Notre Dame remains to be determined.

An efficient shooting performance

Syracuse entered the day ranking eighth in the country in shooting percentage (34.3%) and fifth in overall offensive efficiency (34.2%), per Lacrosse Reference. Those numbers jumped after the win over St. Bonaventure, when the Orange had their best games in both areas — finishing at 56.4% and 55%, respectively. Bonnies goalie Cristofero Cucciuffo finished with only three saves on 20 shots on goal.

Saturday, SU’s offense continued to finish efficiently, scoring 18 goals on 31 shots on goal, though nine of Wilson’s saves came after halftime, with Syracuse already in control. Throughout the season, face-off and ground ball struggles have limited the attack’s opportunities, but with Fine doing a solid job in place of Richiusa, the Orange had more chances to wind and fire.

And that they did, consistently getting good shooting angles and finishing appropriately — typically just under the crossbar, or at Wilson’s ankles. On one goal late in the third quarter, Spallina got a screen from Birtwistle at X and faked a high shot before finishing low. At the start of the fourth, Hiltz worked at X while Birtwistle cut to goal unmarked for an easy pass and score.

Ten different players scored, too, again displaying the Orange’s scoring diversity.

Mark with another big game

Through 10 games now, Mark has become one of Syracuse’s most valuable players — and arguably the best goalie in the country, too. He leads the country in total saves, and ranks fourth in save percentage at 60%. Mark has registered double digit saves in all but two games this season (one came Tuesday against St. Bonaventure, when he didn’t even play the fourth quarter due to the blowout), and totaled 40 saves in important matchups against Maryland and Duke.

Saturday, Mark notched another impressive performance. Midway through the second quarter, Alex Rosa quickly fired a shot at Mark after a Hobart face-off win, but Mark’s net was there before the ball could slam into the back of the net. Moments later, when Sam Ward worked from X — with Mark trying to defend him — to the side of the cage, the goalie recovered just in time to get a piece of the shot and keep the score 7-4.

With Syracuse’s lead safe in the second half, Mark didn’t need to step up as much, but he still held the Statesmen to only two goals before Harrison Thompson replaced him with four minutes left.

Published on March 25, 2023 at 3:24 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_