It was simply a lack of energy and focus.

Those two factors allowed Villanova to devastate Syracuse in the second half. After the Orange held a two-goal lead at halftime, Brian Megill said it was those two variables that leached into the Orange’s defensive performance and wrenched a victory away.

‘We came out of the locker room with no energy,’ Megill said. ‘… Hats off to them, (Jack Rice) and (Kevin Cunningham) have great chemistry together and they look for each other all the time, and I thought they got a good bunch of goals in transition.’

A collective performance from the Wildcats’ cohesive attacking unit of Rice, Cunningham and Will Casertano in the second half snatched control of the game. No. 15 Villanova (5-3, 1-0 Big East) used a spirited offensive onslaught in the second half to outscore No. 8 SU (4-3, 2-1 Big East) by three goals in the final 30 minutes and conquer the Orange 11-10 in the Carrier Dome on Sunday.

SU’s defense came into the game with an emphasis on stopping the Wildcats’ proficient three-headed attack. And through the first half, the Orange did a good job limiting the trio to just three total points.

But all that changed when the momentum swung in Villanova’s favor in the second half.

A quick up-and-down sequence after the opening draw yielded a goal for the Wildcats.

After Wildcats goaltender Dan Gutierrez made a save on Derek Maltz, he pushed the ball out in transition. Cunningham found midfielder Matt Bell cutting to the net 56 seconds later to slice Syracuse’s lead to one.

‘I think right away we came out of the locker room with intensity, and we were down by I think two, and right away we started moving at a fast pace right away,’ Rice said. ‘Everyone was cutting off picks and was working hard off ball. We were finding people open, and I think it was just confusing the defense.’

That intensity was facilitated by a dominating performance in the faceoff X.

After Syracuse controlled 9-of-14 draw controls in the first half, the tides changed drastically in the second. Villanova won 9-of-11 faceoffs in the second half to give its offense a boost in the third and fourth quarters.

‘It’s kind of been the same old story for us,’ head coach John Desko said. ‘I thought that even with the stats the way they were, the faceoff guys were getting the ball out towards space, and I congratulate them on getting those loose balls.’

And Rice and Cunningham began to exploit the Syracuse defense with those additional possessions in the attacking zone.

With 6:51 remaining in the third quarter, Rice caught a pass from Cunningham in the middle of the attacking zone. He spun around SU defender Matt Harris to free up some space in front of the net and fired a bounce shot past goaltender Dominic Lamolinara.

Rice’s goal was part of a 3-0 Villanova run to open the second half as the Wildcats took their first lead since the 2:27 mark of the first quarter.

‘They do a good job of their picking,’ Desko said. ‘They’re going to get theirs, and they’re smart players and in certain situations they’re going to get theirs.’

Rice finished with a team-high four points, on two goals and two assists to help key Villanova’s second-half comeback. Cunningham added three assists on the day.

The resilient attack by the Wildcats in the second half turned the game into a dogfight. After SU midfielder Drew Jenkins gave the Orange a 9-8 lead late in the third quarter, Villanova mounted another 3-0 run to take a decisive lead.

Casertano, known for his prominent feeding abilities, got two great looks off feeds from Rice and Michael Vigilante and put two goals away down the stretch to help earn the victory for the Wildcats.

And SU’s defense couldn’t hold its ground.

‘We kept getting turnovers and not making plays on defense,’ Megill said, ‘and they just kept crawling back in there, crawling back in there, and when you get a team with confidence, they’re going to do some amazing things.’

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on March 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm