After a historic loss and a cathartic win in back-to-back weeks, No. 17 Syracuse (2-1) staved off No. 13 Army (3-1), 10-8, in the Carrier Dome. The Orange nearly lost an second half four-goal lead but stellar performances by Drake Porter and Jakob Phaup locked the win.

Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s win.

Hand it over

In the third quarter, the public address announcer expedited what had become a one-sided process. Griffin Cook had just scored his first collegiate goal, pushing the Orange lead to four. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed to Army coach Joe Alberici, who had screamed and pleaded for a crease violation, awarded the ball to SU. So, with Jamie Trimboli at midfield, the PA said, “There will be no face-off.” In truth, there didn’t have to be.

Entering the contest, the Black Knights had a 27.3 percent faceoff win-percentage — a number not even listed on the NCAA stats board. The lowest — Fairfield’s 32.4 percent — ranked 69th. With the Orange juggling two faceoff options in Jakob Phaup and Danny Varello, Phaup got the call from head coach John Desko and dominated. He won 15-of-18 at the X. Varello went 2-for-3.

Army senior face-off specialist Evan Condon faltered time and again. Army sent long-stick midfielder Kyle Beyer and attack Sean O’Brien to the block ‘S’ at midfield and the result didn’t change. The added pressure allowed SU to manage 37 shots.

The goalie show

Bradley Voigt saw the open space in front of the cage and charged. When Jamie Trimboli bounced a shot in front of the crease, Voigt lunged, caught and flicked the ball no-look to the target. It looked like a score, the crowd prepped a roar, but then AJ Barretto appeared. He deflected the shot to the side and an ensuing penalty gave SU a man-up stretch.

The Orange then quickly worked the ball around to Stephen Rehfuss who fired from point-blank range. Barretto stopped that try as well. Another goal celebration was postponed, if only temporary.

Barretto tallied eight saves in the second quarter and finished with 18. He knocked away door-step tries, stepped into passing lanes and cleared with relative ease. The 5-foot-6 stopper shined at times, triggering cheer-after-cheer from the Black Knights’ fan section. Barretto’s counterpart, Orange goalie Drake Porter, was efficient, too.

Porter ended the contest with two solid performances, building off the 17 saves he tallied in his first two collegiate starts. The junior was the favorite to win the competition in the fall, and held the spot into the preseason. Through three games, he’s solidified his place. The stickwork and positioning that won him the job were apparent on Sunday. As SU’s initial lack of possession didn’t faze the Canadian goalie. In the second half, Barretto’s success waned, as the consistent pressure eventually gave Syracuse the lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

What’s old is new

Before the game, it was announced that senior defender Tyson Bomberry would be out with a upper-body injury a week after helping SU lock down Albany’s top-option Tehoka Nanticoke. In his place, Syracuse turned to Grant Murphy. A short-stick midfielder a season ago, Murphy switched back to his old position. At Woodlands (Texas) High School, Murphy was an All-America long pole. Sunday, he helped neutralize Army’s attack. He slipped at times, leading to a few Black Knights goals. But his fill-in performance helped the Orange in their second-straight win.

Published on February 24, 2019 at 6:06 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez