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Before Syracuse’s matchup against No. 1 Maryland, head coach Gary Gait had his No. 22 jersey hit the rafters on the east side of the Carrier Dome. After his jersey had been elevated, Gait said that “Syracuse lacrosse has been everything” to him and that his goal for this season was to get SU back to its prime, with an appearance in Championship Weekend. 

Following an offensive onslaught over Holy Cross in a 28-5 win, Syracuse used that tuneup to stay close early against No. 1 Maryland throughout the first three periods. But after Gait’s jersey retirement and Roy Simmons Jr.’s addition to the Ring of Honor at halftime, the Orange only got within one score of the Terrapins.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s 14-10 loss to No. 1 Maryland:

Quinn and Dordevic become a dynamic duo

While the rest of the offense struggled for the majority of the afternoon against Maryland, Lucas Quinn and Tucker Dordevic found ways to dominate against the Terrapins.

Following Maryland’s fifth score, Brendan Curry took the ball from Jakob Phaup’s faceoff win and went into Dordevic’s usual position on the right side of the field. While Curry was working towards the cage, Quinn was left wide open 10 yards out.

Curry passed to Quinn, who took an underhand shot that found the back of the net. Dordevic shot from the same spot 40 seconds later, this time unassisted, spinning back before sending an underhand strike past Logan McNaney.

Later in the second period, Dordevic worked alone on the right side again, this time dodging to his right before bringing his stick up high. He shot from 15 yards out, bringing the Terrapins’ lead down to three.

Then, both Quinn and Dordevic worked from behind the cage. Dordevic went first, curling from behind the cage on the left side before sending a bounce shot past McNaney. Quinn needed a pass from Griffin Cook, but he also scored, running forward towards midfield before turning and shooting low. Less than 30 seconds later, Quinn got the ball again from 15 yards out, sending a right-hand strike from the middle of the field to cap off his hat trick and cut Maryland’s lead to one.

However, the duo stayed quiet for the entirety of the third period as Jackson Birtwistle and Mikey Berkman scored in the last 30 seconds. Dordevic went back to work in isolation in the fourth period, scoring twice. His first goal came from the center of the field, which he bounced using his left hand. After the score, he hyped the crowd up in the Carrier Dome, then scored three minutes later off an assist from Berkman.

Offense sputters early 

The Orange were on the offensive end first following a faceoff win from Phaup, but Maryland’s defensive strength already started to emerge.

Ajax Zappitello guarded Dordevic, who tried to facilitate the Orange’s offense from the right side of the field. But Zappitello stayed less than a stick’s length away from Dordevic throughout the whole possession, causing him to slip while trying to dodge Zappitello and even drop the ball on the turf.

Curry took the first attempt later in the possession, but his right-hand strike went nowhere near goal. On each of the Orange’s next possessions, Curry, Dordevic, Berkman and Cook tried to get enough space for shots late in the shot clock, but only four were on goal. None found the back of the net in the first period.

Goalie Gavin

After the Holy Cross win, Gait said that the Orange’s starting goalie position was still up in the air. Bobby Gavin had started the first half, recording eight saves before Harrison Thompson came in and had two. 

“We’re going to talk about it, but I thought both goalies played outstanding,” Gait said.

Gavin got the start on Sunday and following two penalties by Syracuse’s defense — one for pushing Nick Fraterrigo and another on Dami Oladunmoye for an illegal procedure while substituting into play — he got his first save.

Keegan Khan, who had found the back of the net twice but wasn’t awarded for them because of the penalties, shot from 10 yards out, but Gavin deflected the high strike out of bounds. Still, Daniel Maltz picked up the ground ball for the Terrapins and assisted Anthony DeMaio, who easily scored past Gavin.

The Terrapins continued to break down the Orange’s defense though Gavin made some crucial saves, either trapping the ball on the turf with his stick or deflecting it to himself on long strikes. Maryland found most of its success finding unmarked players, leaving Gavin in tough situations.

Gavin was left with a two-on-one situation in the second period as the rest of the defense fought for a ground ball near midfield. Gavin tracked Khan with the ball before shifting his attention to Eric Malever who was at his left side. Malever shot high at point-blank range, but Gavin trapped the ball with his stick, preventing the seventh score.

Wisnauskas dominates

Logan Wisnauskas started his career at Syracuse in 2017 (redshirt season) before transferring to Maryland in the 2018 offseason. Without Tewaaraton Winner Jared Bernhardt this season, Wisnauskas has become the Terrapins’ main option with eight goals in two games this season.

Wisnauskas didn’t score the first few goals, but for the Terrapins’ third score, he received the ball with Brett Kennedy on him. Wisnauskas got past Kennedy, bouncing off a hit from Saam Olexo before unloading a strike from the center. Gavin couldn’t get to it or another strike from Wisnauskas four minutes later, which was assisted by DeMaio.

At the end of the third period, Wisnauskas got the ball unguarded 15 yards out from the cage. He got the ball and sent an underhand left strike from the right side of the field, hitting the top left corner of the net for his final score.

Up-and-down at the X

Phaup, who went 15-for-18 at the X against the Crusaders, brought his momentum from last week into Sunday. He easily won the first faceoff, popping the ball up to the left side of the field before picking it up and sending it to Dordevic.

But Phaup was called for faceoff violations on the ensuing two faceoffs, allowing Maryland the chance to score twice. Still, Phaup had the better of Luke Wierman and Gavin Tygh, going 15-for-28 at the X. After Quinn’s goal, Phaup convincingly won a crucial faceoff, running down the middle of the field to find Dordevic, who eventually got the second score.

Published on February 20, 2022 at 2:33 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu