All outlets appeared blocked. For two and a half overtime periods, every open pass or shot met a stone wall. But when Syracuse needed its biggest play of the season so far, the biggest name in SU history broke down the barrier: Simmons. For nearly 100 years, the Simmons family has been the face of Syracuse lacrosse. Saturday afternoon was no different.

With 3:30 remaining in the third overtime period between No. 16 Syracuse (2-1) and No. 9 Army (3-1), SU goalie Dom Madonna couldn’t find anyone downfield. He looked left, then right, then back again. It was then that he found No. 16, Ryan Simmons, streaking between the defense. Madonna rifled a pass straight down the center of the field. Simmons caught it in stride, racing past two collapsing defenders and ripping a shot into the top corner of the goal.

Simmons slowed his stride and pointed his index finger to the sky as his teammates mobbed him. When the field cleared, and the roars of the Carrier Dome dulled, Simmons remained in the end zone, with his index finger directed towards the sky.

“Great pass, great catch and a great finish,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. “A good day for the Orange.”

Simmons’ goal capped off a triumphant come-from-behind win for Syracuse. Last year, down four to Army, the Orange stormed back from a four-goal deficit before losing 14-13 on a last-second game-winner. This Saturday afternoon, Syracuse trailed by five goals before launching a comeback that ended in Simmons’ first overtime goal in his five-year career with SU.

“It’s a nice ice-breaker,” Simmons said with a chuckle.

The midfielder was all smiles postgame after scoring his first goal of the season, but for much of Saturday’s contest, SU trailed heavily.

After SU opened with the first goal of the game, Army scored six unanswered, with five coming in the second quarter. In the third quarter against Albany last weekend, Syracuse held possession for 1:34 and gave up seven goals. Against the Black Knights, the second quarter looked eerily similar.

The Black Knights stomped SU in the first half in essentially every manner. At the end of 30 minutes, Army had outshot the Orange by seven, won seven-of-nine faceoffs and won 10 more ground balls. And when the Orange did gain possession, it struggled. SU finished the first half with seven turnovers and just 10 shots.

And the third quarter didn’t start any better. The Orange netted a goal on its first possession, only to have Army answer right back. On the ensuing possession, Peter Dearth lost his stick, leading to an Army fast break.

But the Black Knights turned over their chance at a potential dagger, and the Orange made them regret it.

Syracuse stormed back, ripping off four goals in just seven minutes. It began with freshman Tucker Dordevic bouncing a dart past the left leg of Army goalie AJ Barretto to cut the lead to 7-3. On the ensuing possession, Stephen Rehfuss scored his lone goal of the game on a one-handed runner. Rehfuss began behind the cage before racing around the left side. As the defender held his left arm, Rehfuss freed his right, before spinning and firing the ball into the top opposite corner.

Two minutes later, Brad McKinney copied Rehfuss’ move from the other side. The redshirt junior zoomed around the right side, before launching the ball past Barretto. As he shot, he was pushed to the ground into a backward somersault. Unable to see the ball actually go in, McKinney heard the roar of the crowd and jumped back up into the air with his fist high.

SU rattled off two more goals in the final three minutes, while limiting Army to just one to head into the fourth quarter down just 8-7.

Neither Danny Varello nor Seth DeLisle could break Army at the faceoff X. But the Orange’s defense stepped up in its most crucial moments thus far.

Both teams traded blows to open the fourth, but then SU pulled away. David Lipka and Brendan Bomberry tied the game at nine, before Nate Solomon put the Orange ahead by one.

“You feel a sense of urgency,” Nate Solomon said. “We’re quicker. We went out fast and that’s our game. We had to go out and player faster and smarter.”

Despite SU’s bombardment, Army answered with five minutes remaining.

While the previous 20 minutes featured rapid-fire scoring, the final five of regulation remained a stalemate. Both sides found themselves in position to win, unable to make the final push.

Once overtime began, SU stepped up in all facets. Dom Madonna made two saves, including one while a man down. Danny Varello opened the game two-for-11 on faceoffs, but won his final three.

Both teams generated chances offensively, but neither could break through. Army head coach Joe Alberici knew both defenses weren’t budging, but something had to crack.

“I really felt as it progressed through overtime, it was going to be that broken play that ended it,” Alberici said.

Ryan Simmons hadn’t made his presence known in the game, but he found the crack. Alberici knew Madonna had few options up the field and thought his team was in good position defensively. But when he saw Simmons begin to make the cut between his short-stick defensive midfielder and his defender, he knew that could be the game.

“Uh-oh,” Alberici remembered himself thinking, “They won it on a great play … really heads-up play by Simmons.”

And when the ball came his way in the third overtime period, he made the perfect play. Simmons’ goal lifted SU over Army, preventing Syracuse’s first back-to-back home losses since 1995.

As soon as the redshirt senior shot it, he knew it was in. Simmons pointed his finger to the sky and raced toward the back of the end zone where his team swarmed him. Others joined him, flashing number one in the air. But when the excitement died down, only he remained.

“We grew a lot today,” Desko said. “We came alive.”

Nine players scored for Syracuse against Army, with the other eight being younger than Simmons. Last Saturday, the youthful Orange offense folded when faced with adversity. This Saturday, in need of an experienced player to put it over the edge, the Orange found its stride.

Published on February 24, 2018 at 4:58 pm

Contact Matt: mdliberm@syr.edu