BALTIMORE — Before the first faceoff, the matchup was clear. Syracuse’s Nick Mellen would be stationed next to Loyola’s Pat Spencer on the edge of SU’s defensive zone. The officials and faceoff specialists readied and Mellen held his long-stick across Spencer’s chest. They had both been there before, facing another team’s best player. Now it was a matter of seeing who was better.

For the better part of the last two years, Mellen has simplified SU’s defensive gameplan: No matter the size or skillset of a top-attack, Mellen wouldn’t be unmatched. For the last four years, Loyola deployed Spencer the same way, just on offense.

Saturday’s biggest matchup boiled the game down to its core: one-on-one. Spencer hunted for shots and assists. Mellen did anything possible to stop, or at least limit, Spencer’s stardom. In the end, after their greatness linked them together for 60 minutes, Spencer had overpowered Mellen in Loyola’s (12-4, 7-1 Patriot League) 15-13 win over Syracuse (9-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) at the Ridley Athletic Complex. From the sidelines, SU coaches, who spent two weeks planning for Spencer, could just watch. He posted nine points (three goals, six assists), scored when needed and found grey jerseys at crucial moments to lead a Greyhound comeback after facing a four-goal deficit.

Spencer’s afternoon — one in which he matched and set numerous NCAA records — ultimately carried Loyola to the second round of the NCAA tournament and ended Syracuse’s season.

“He’s a load, number one,” Mellen said of guarding Spencer. “He’s a big guy, too. His vision is tremendous. He’s able to find the open guy even with a lot of pressure on him — by me.”

Kaci Wasilewski | Senior Staff Writer

Last week, Mellen downplayed his matchup with Spencer. The redshirt-junior that had locked down Cornell’s Jeff Teat and Hobart’s Eric Holden, among others, saw their clash as another matchup. During film review sessions, coaches would show SU players clips of an opponent’s top-performers. Spencer led off the Loyola highlights. While no Orange coach explicitly said that Mellen would defend Spencer, the defense knew that Mellen would draw the challenge, goalie Drake Porter said.

When they went on the practice field to run through sets, Mellen jogged over to freshman attack Mikey Berkman, SU’s scout-team version of Spencer.

“We were a little back and forth on things,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said of stopping Spencer. “I didn’t think we helped out like we could’ve. We wanted to see how the game was gonna go, how many opportunities he was gonna have.”

In their first in-game battle, Mellen jabbed at Spencer’s stick 30-yards away from the goal. Loyola’s top attack charged left while Mellen side-shuffled. Approaching the crease, Spencer swung the ball to sophomore Aidan Olmstead, who then found senior John Duffy for a score.

On fields with no hash marks, Mellen said he relied on other SU defenders to let him know how far he was from the cage since the Orange usually plays on football fields. Against Spencer, however, it didn’t matter. Other Orange jerseys rotated toward Spencer and opened a hole in the zone.

Greyhounds head coach Charley Toomey said that his team wanted to attack SU from the goal line. At first, they inverted midfielders to set up big-little matchups. Then, they rolled Spencer behind and let him operate. Desko said that SU was prepared for the strategy. Again, it didn’t matter.

The senior attack utilized his 6-foot-3, 205-pound-frame to pound the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Mellen through the zone. Spencer even dotted the midfield to scoop ground balls at times. In the first quarter, while backing Mellen down, Spencer lowered his shoulder and generated space. Facing Porter’s left, Spencer wrapped his stick around his shoulder and slipped one near post.  

Porter turned and watched the replay. Spencer stared at the net, his work causing those in attendance to gasp loudly. From the sidelines, Desko rubbed his hands together and shook his head. For Mellen, it was the first goal he allowed to his assignment in a month-and-a-half.

Kaci Wasilewski | Senior Staff Writer

SU committed bodies inside and forced Spencer into four turnovers. Mellen covered his size disadvantage in spurts, consistently watching Spencer’s hips and smacking him with plastic. In one midfield scrum, three SU players collided into Spencer when Brett Kennedy ran in and sent Spencer tumbling.

“Sometimes the going gets tight and I feel like I need to make a play and I need to get this team rolling,” Spencer said. “Sometimes I do. But, other times, they’re gonna slide quick and I gotta trust the guys to make the plays.”

Down four goals late in the third quarter, Spencer said the offense didn’t rush — they knew they’d have a chance to come back. Standing at the top of the offense, staring back at an Orange zone man-down defense, Spencer picked out Olmstead for a strike. Then, Spencer clogged space and Olmstead found freshman Chase Scanlan for another score. Two back-to-back penalties later, SU had jump-started a Loyola run it couldn’t stop.

With 1:11 left in the game, Spencer capped off the victory with a goal that bounced into an open net. Behind him, Mellen walked with hands on his hips. Spencer turned to the Loyola bench while his teammates rushed. Before they reached him, Spencer held his arms out one more time.

He was the best player on the field on Saturday. He’d been there before.

“I felt like I had (Mellen) from the start,” Spencer said. “He’s a good player. I just think there are spots I was able to get to on the field.”

Published on May 11, 2019 at 5:30 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez