Tucker Dordevic took a pass from Stephen Rehfuss along the right alley as the Hobart defender slid to him. Dordevic cut back, toward the middle of the field, causing the defender to step back as well. 

All it took was one last move — a spin through tangled legs, a fall to the ground, and a shot — in one fluid motion, to bring Syracuse’s lead back to three.

The redshirt sophomore opened the scoring, and his spinning shot capped his career-high fifth goal. Syracuse got out to a 3-0 lead, and when the Statesmen began to answer every SU goal, Dordevic, Brendan Curry and Jamie Trimboli — SU’s first midfield line — always responded. That line scored 12 of SU’s 21 goals, had Curry and Dordevic (five goals each) set career-highs and allowed last week’s hero, Jamie Trimboli, to ice the game with two fourth-quarter goals. In an otherwise sloppy 21-13 victory over No. 19 Hobart (3-1), Syracuse’s (4-0) first line midfield showed up.

“I’m not sure there’s a better midfield in the country,” Hobart coach Greg Raymond said.

No. 3 Syracuse hasn’t always dominated teams this season, but when the Orange needed scorers to step up, they’ve delivered. Chase Scanlan in the opener, Trimboli against Army. Tonight was Dordevic and Curry’s night.

Like last week, the Orange matched up against a defense that pushed out and was slow to slide, forcing SU’s midfielders and attacks to win one-on-one battles in the open field. So, like last week, Syracuse made the same offensive adjustments. Inverting the offense, at times, and dodging along the wings.

“Once we beat our guy and got a couple steps, we were able to stick some shots past ’em,” Curry said. 

In the second quarter, Dordevic ran the ball to X, and the Statesmen kept a short stick defending him. With the manufactured mismatch below the goal, Dordevic tried to skirt the crease and cut to the net. While his path was disrupted, SU’s offensive game plan became clear: If Hobart was going to defend them like Army did, Syracuse was going to beat them the very same way.

On the other side of the ball, Syracuse struggled more than it has at any point in this young season. Face-off men Jakob Phaup and Danny Varello couldn’t establish a rhythm through the first half of the game, SU turned over the ball 13 times and the close defense finally showed signs of missing All-American anchor Nick Mellen. In place of Mellen, Brett Kennedy was tasked with lead coverage duties, and that meant guarding Hobart attack Eric Holden.

Early in the contest, Kennedy managed, stopping Holden in his tracks and constantly checking over his shoulder to keep him at bay off ball. But as the game went on, Holden racked up his three goals and two assists and drew Kennedy into penalties that plagued Syracuse. Kennedy finished the game with three one-minute penalties, and Grant Murphy added one of his own. Soon following all three of Kennedy’s penalties, Hobart capitalized on the man-up. 

But while Hobart pushed the goal pace, Syracuse had a midfield on fire to lean on. Dordevic scored two goals prior to tonight’s matchup, but tonight was his return. After missing over 500 days of lacrosse, after two foot surgeries, after watching road trips from home and home games from the sideline, Dordevic was back.

“It’s been a very, very long journey,” Dordevic said.

After a fourth-quarter Curry goal that pushed the lead to four, the Orange obtained a rare clean stop. But on the clear, Peter Dearth collapsed to the ground and stopped the game. Dearth, clutching his hamstring, limped to the SU sideline. Then, Curry darted through the center and took a pass from Rehfuss on the wing.

The pass  — almost a mirror image to the play Curry connected with Trimboli on twice a week prior — was quickly deposited in the back of the Hobart net. Despite penalties, turnovers and mediocre face-off work, SU’s midfield shaped into an undeniable, unstoppable force. 

“I don’t think we’ll ever doubt ourselves against anybody,” Dordevic said.

Published on February 28, 2020 at 9:32 pm

Contact Mitchell: mbannon@syr.edu