Dylan Donahue and Kevin Rice wasted no time in showcasing the chemistry they built in the months leading up to the season.

The two first met as juniors in high school as teammates in the Empire State Games and their friendship picked up again when Donahue transferred from Air Force before last season. Then they honed their connection this past summer playing together in summer leagues and working out up to five times a week.

So when the Orange opened its season against Siena on Monday night, it was the well-oiled pair that spearheaded a potent attack and buried the Saints by the opening minutes of the second half.

“I think that that definitely helped,” Rice said, “with our communication and knowing each other’s tendencies.”

No. 2 Syracuse’s (1-0) season-opening 19-7 win over Siena (0-1) showed that the offseason work was greatly beneficial. A year ago, the Orange floundered in a double-overtime loss in its home opener against unranked Albany. Monday, Donahue and Rice hampered any chance of a Siena upset early on and treated the 2,015 fans in the Carrier Dome to a one-sided affair.

Both players finished one tally shy of SU single-game records and surrounded themselves with elite company.

Donahue netted eight goals, becoming the first Syracuse player to score seven or more since Matt Cutia did so in 1999. Rice dished out eight assists, becoming the first SU player to collect eight or more since Casey Powell in 1997. And to tie their stat lines together, Rice assisted on six of Donahue’s goals.

Siena totaled just nine points, while Donahue and Rice combined for 17 of the Orange’s 31. Yet neither of the two were ready to take any individual credit after the game.

“I think it’s nice for us that we get the points but most of the work was done by our middies,” Rice said.

“It was a pretty good team effort today,” Donahue said.

Donahue and Rice’s passive attitude toward their collective brilliance surfaces in their on-field play.

Neither celebrates too much or too often. Just the occasional fist bump — which Donahue displayed after slotting the Orange’s first goal of the season two minutes in — or the theatrical head nod — which Rice utilized after assisting on a Donahue goal early in the second quarter.

And as the scoring plays developed throughout the night, each one looking like a replay of the last, Rice was the easiest to follow.

Early in the second half, amid a streak of three goals scored by Donahue off passes from Rice that put the game out of reach, Rice calmly cradled the ball behind the Saints’ net. The artful creator of the duo, he effortlessly dodged two defenders before Donahue darted into the crease.

Before the Siena defense could react and goalie Tommy Cordts could turn his body toward the field, Donahue had already caught the ball and slapped it into the back of the net.

Then the attention shifted to Donahue while Rice slowly caught up to a huddle of celebrating white jerseys.

“Dylan picked up where he left off last year,” SU head coach John Desko said, “shooting the ball extremely well, moving without the ball and carrying the ball.”

If Syracuse can take anything away from a double-digit win over an inferior opponent, it’s the rapport between two of its savviest starters. Rice and Donahue didn’t just lead the Orange attack to 13 first-half goals and an impressive overall output, but did so without revealing what they’re really capable of.

Every Donahue goal that came off a Rice assist was within feet of the crease with passes coming from behind the net. Then both players said after the game that they’ve worked on all kinds of ways to score.

Desko had a hard time explaining what he saw. He looked at Donahue from the seat over at the postgame press conference and said, “I guess you were just in the right place at the right time tonight.”

That explanation works against Siena, but even when the Orange moves into the nation’s hardest schedule in the coming weeks, it will have a seasoned pair to lean on.

“I get the ball and the defense is rotating and Dylan always finds the open spot,” Rice said.

It’s as simple as that.

Published on February 10, 2014 at 9:17 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse