In a game where offense was hard to come by, Syracuse’s four-goal second quarter served as the exception, as the Orange pulled away from the Black Knights and clicked offensively en route to a 6-2 victory.

“I think it was just some of the situations we had,” SU head coach John Desko said. “We get a goal off the offense and we get something unsettled. We caught them in a couple clearing situations that started a little break for us.”

Syracuse’s first goal of the second quarter came on a strike from Scott Loy at the 11:42 mark. Kevin Rice looped around the net, looking for a cutting teammate. He found Loy, who corralled the ball and hurled it into the net in one fluid motion.

The goal extended the Orange’s lead to 2-0, and started to distance SU from Army after a sluggish first quarter for both teams.

Less than two minutes later, Luke Cometti scored his first goal of the game and third of the season off of a dish from JoJo Marasco. The midfielder curved the pass around a defender. Cometti caught the ball and rifled it past Army goaltender Sam Somers.

Then, Dylan Donahue and Derek Maltz joined the fray. Donahue, who’s been a bright spot for Syracuse so far this season, drew a double team and toyed with the Army defense. Maltz juked one way and burst toward the other, finding space to catch Donahue’s pass and essentially place the ball into a nearly wide-open net.

“I think we came out of the gate and we were a little bit less nervous than last game,” Maltz said. “Second quarter, we had a week to prepare. We knew what they were doing.”

Donahue added a goal of his own roughly three minutes later, sneaking into the crease and beating Somers.

Syracuse turned a 1-0 advantage into a 5-2 lead, showcasing its offensive potential while putting on a strong defensive showing, as well. The Orange attempted 18 shots in the quarter, only seven away from Army’s total for the entire game.

Said Maltz: “With JoJo, Luke and Scott Loy, they did a great job up top and our attack moved the ball well and found some opportunities.”

Published on February 25, 2013 at 12:31 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass