Syracuse men’s lacrosse: #2 Orange offense stagnates in 11-7 loss to #6 Maryland

A dogged Maryland defensive unit proved the difference in the freezing rain

The Syracuse Orange men’s lacrosse team (3-1) failed to step up in there biggest game of the season so far as they fell 11-7 against the #6 Maryland Terrapins (3-0) on Saturday afternoon in College Park.

In the freezing rain and for the first time outside of the Dome this season, the Syracuse offense looked lethargic and lacked urgency as they scored 11 less than their previous season average of 18 goals scored per game.

The Orange entered the matchup as the #2 team in the nation with an undefeated record after comfortable home wins against Jacksonville, Vermont, and Towson. However, the Terps on the road would pose a whole new challenge as a top-5 team, a National Championship contender, and a tried-and-true blue-blood program.

Maryland also came into the game undefeated after wins against #18 Richmond and at Loyola. Last year, Cuse and Maryland also met in the fourth game of the season in the Dome, with the Terps handing the Orange their first loss of the campaign in an OT thriller.

The Orange haven’t won the fixture since 2011. With even loftier aspirations this season, Head Coach Gary Gait noted that the game was a “must-win.”

The game got underway after a faceoff violation from specialist John Mullen, and an extended stretch of Maryland possession marked the opening minutes.

An outstanding set of defensive possessions from the Orange and a few great saves from Jimmy McCool in net set the tempo as momentum than swung back in favor of the visitors.

The Orange saw a slew of shooting opportunities, including seven shots through the opening seven minutes, but the game remarkably remained scoreless.

SU was the team to break the deadlock after a wicked behind-the-back shot from Trey Deere off an assist from Joey Spallina. A few minutes later, a long-distance rocket from Maryland’s Elijah Stobaugh broke McCool’s four-save streak to tie the game.

Luke Rhoa and Matthew Keegan each added one before the buzzer rang out with the game knotted up at 2-2. Both teams had set the tempo on defense with great showings on either side.

This tone continued into the second half, and it was Maryland’s AJ Larkin who made a great defensive play before going coast-to-coast to make it 3-2 in favor of the home side. The Orange then answered quickly through Finn Thomson.

Star men Eric Spanos and Braden Erksa linked up to make it 4-3 Maryland with just over seven minutes in the half, whilst the Terps defense was able to successfully neutralize ‘Cuses talents in the one-on-one game.

The Maryland defenders were dogged in their efforts, and the game was gritty and physical on both ends. Despite this edge, neither team committed a penalty through the first 30 minutes.

Joey Spallina scored his first of the day with two-and-a-half minutes left, and then really made his presence felt as he put together an excellent dodge to give the Orange the lead with 30 second left in the half.

The period would end 5-4 in favor or Syracuse who had comfortably outshot their hosts 21-12. Spallina’s flash of brilliance had marked the different between the teams just before half in a game that had been defined by defensive resilience. McCool had made five saves for the Orange while Maryland’s Logan McNaney made seven.

The first goal of the second half came after SU conceded the first penalty of the day. An initial save from McCool fell back to Eliot Dubick who dunked the ball home uncontested.

The game then featured another extended period without a goal before Maryland snagged back the lead from right outside the goal mouth. Both defenses were again locked in as each side suffered from a few shot-clock issues through the quarter.

The Terps earned another man-up situation and scored with just under two minutes remaining, giving them a two-goal cushion which neither team had seen in the game so far. After a few more moments, the cushion was at three.

Owen Hiltz provided SU’s first goal of the half with only a few seconds remaining, but Maryland’s huge run coming out of the half had dug the Syracuse into an 8-6 hole they would struggle to climb out of.

Maryland scored first coming out of the break, and the Orange offense looked frustrated and unsettled at the Terps’ offense continued to accelerate whereas the Oranges’ stagnated. A few mistakes and unforced errors put the cherry on top of a performance where the Orange just couldn’t get a shot to fall.

On the back of a 7-2 run in the second half, the Terrapins simply had to chew away at the clock over the final few minutes. The final score read 11-7 in favor of Maryland, the perceived underdogs.

Despite the Orange offense leading in total shots 41-32, they were inefficient and threw away good opportunities as Maryland had 23 of their shots hit the cage compared to Cuse only hitting 19. The faceoff and turnover battles finished nearly even, showing that the real difference in the game was how clinical each side was in shooting.

Maryland’s Jack McDonald was one of the outstanding players of the game with seven ground balls and one turnover caused. McNaney in the Maryland goal was also exceptional, saving 12 and conceding seven of the 19 shots on net (63%).

Following this difficult result, the Orange will return to the Dome and look to set things right in a matchup with the #17 Harvard Crimson next Saturday afternoon. The two teams will match up for the first time since 2006.