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A lopsided result between Syracuse and Manhattan seemed inevitable on paper. And it became an expected reality Friday evening once the Orange scored twice in the first 46 seconds.

Entering its third game of 2024 after demolishing Vermont and Colgate to open the season, the Orange were primed for a third-straight blowout against Manhattan in its first game of the year. Former Jaspers coach John Odierna is now SU’s defensive coordinator — his loss proved to be damaging, as Manhattan failed to inch back from a 7-1 first-quarter deficit through Syracuse’s 16-goal win.

Joey Spallina (three goals, seven assists) and Owen Hiltz (three goals, three assists) propelled a massive evening for SU’s attack. While Odierna’s defense locked down on the Jaspers, limiting their leading goal scorer to minimal production, and they couldn’t make up for it at the faceoff X against Mason Kohn and John Mullen.

Here are some observations from No. 9 Syracuse’s (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 16-3 obliteration of Manhattan (0-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference):

Spallina gets to stat-pad

Across his first two outings of the season, Spallina jumped out to a scorching hot start. He tallied 16 points versus Vermont and Colgate, split by seven goals and nine assists — he had zero assists through the first two games of his freshman campaign.

Manhattan gave the sophomore attack another pristine chance to make his numbers look even gaudier. And he delivered from the get-go.

A cross-crease pass from Spallina to Hiltz allowed the latter to fire a lefty shot past Manhattan goalie Connor Hapward for SU’s second goal of the evening. On its next offensive possession, Spallina hit a cutting Jake Stevens in front of the net for an easy score.

His passing left the Jaspers reeling on nearly every possession. Spallina consistently dished to open teammates from X and made detailed reads of Manhattan’s defense to pass within the cracks of it, finding guys like Hiltz with regularity. At the end of the second quarter, Spallina hit Hiltz on a deep pass to the middle of the field. He released a strike that found the back of the net, which was good for Spallina’s sixth assist of the game — a career-high.

As if that wasn’t enough, Spallina caught the Jaspers sleeping with one second left in the opening half. Kohn won the faceoff with time winding to a close and galloped toward the net. He sent a bouncer at Hapward but Spallina picked it from mid-air, reared back and released it past the Manhattan goalie. It was Spallina’s second of three scores in the evening, giving the Orange an insurmountable halftime advantage.

Talent loss hinders Manhattan

The Jaspers were a totally different squad when they allowed the fewest goals per game in the country in 2023 (8.00). With Odierna pressing the buttons on the defense, and a supporting cast of First-Team All-MAAC defender Christian Clifford and goalie Joseph Persico, who gave up the fewest goals in the nation, Manhattan was a force capable of competing against high-level opponents.

But this year, it was apparent the Jaspers would falter in their season-opener due to their major loss of talent. Odierna, Clifford and Persisco are no longer with the program. Meanwhile, former reliable faceoff specialist Liam McDonough graduated.

The severe gap which existed between SU and Manhattan became abundantly clear by the result of the opening faceoff. Kohn beat James Hogan and dodged through the Jaspers’ defense, scoring an easy look right in front of Hapward. Kohn crushed Manhattan at the faceoff X, winning the battle 19-4 to allow consistent attacking trips for Syracuse.

And Manhattan’s depleted defense couldn’t hang with the Orange. A diverse attack led by Spallina confused the Jaspers’ back end all evening, courtesy of quick passing, aggressive rides and by simply exuding more talent — proved by a second-quarter Sam English step-down shot which squeaked into the net for a 10-1 lead at the time.

In the end, SU finished with 14 more shots on net and 17 more ground ball pickups than Manhattan did, as the Orange overpowered the Jaspers in nearly every facet.

Hiltz emerging as No. 2 option

Over the early part of the season, Hiltz has established himself as the potential No. 2 option behind Spallina on the attack. He accounted for nine points through SU’s first two games, yet his best game of the young season came against Manhattan.

Hiltz’s three goals helped the Orange embark on a tear which resulted in a 10-goal halftime lead. He proved to be an option that Spallina often utilized at X, dodging to create space in front of the goal and releasing accurate shots at the cage.

Though his passing was even more effective. Hiltz finished with three assists and all of them came during the first quarter. Nearly halfway into the opening period, which came during an almost-six-minute scoring drought for SU, Hiltz searched for open teammates behind the net. He found an uncovered Spallina at the left crease and dished to him for a score, giving the Orange a 4-1 lead.

Hiltz then garnered two assists in 35 seconds toward the end of the first. After Kohn spread the ball to him coming off a faceoff win, Hiltz quickly fired a pinpoint pass to Saam Olexo for a goal and assist. Kohn won the next faceoff, too, and filtered it to Hiltz again. This time, Hiltz fed Stevens wide-open in the middle of the field and the midfielder ripped his attempt past Hapward to put SU up 7-1.

Dwan silences Gucwa

Surely aided by Odierna, Syracuse was more than prepared for Manhattan’s leading point-getter Kyle Gucwa, who’s a two-time defending First-Team All-MAAC attack and scored 89 goals through his first four seasons with the program.

He was the lone, true threat the Orange needed to focus on heading into their third matchup of the season. And they had a clear plan to stop him. Long pole defender Billy Dwan man-marked Gucwa behind the net all evening, limiting the attack to zero goals.

Manhattan tried to revolve its offense around filtering the ball from Gucwa at X to gain scoring chances. But Dwan stayed with the shifty attack through every dodge, wraparound goal attempt and even through off-ball movement in front of the net.

Near the 10-minute mark of the first quarter, Dwan stuck out his long pole to fend off a dodging Gucwa who looked to receive a feed near the right crease from Scott O’Connor. Once Gucwa received the pass, Dwan drove him away from scoring position and forced Gucwa to heave the ball elsewhere. On another play, Dawn drove Gucwa too far outside and forced an errant shot on a wraparound try, which caused Gucwa to fall to the ground after needing to readjust himself.

For a Syracuse defense that gave up the fewest goals it has all year, Dwan locking down Gucwa made it nearly impossible for Manhattan to generate any sort of consistent offense.

Published on February 9, 2024 at 6:13 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews