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Following Chris Gray’s goal with 15 seconds left in the game, Jakob Phaup maintained his usual routine at the faceoff X, bending into his stance before touching the head of his stick on the turf twice.

On the final faceoff, directly across from Zac Tucci, Phaup tried to wrestle the ball into his stick. Tucci got to it first though, and Phaup, who specializes in a “rough-and-tumble” style that relies on counter moves to lift the opponent’s stick and get the ball out, did not capitalize on his specialty. Instead, Tucci hobbled on his left leg toward North Carolina’s attack, evading Phaup’s pressure to secure the win at the X. 

In Syracuse’s (4-8, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) 14-13 loss to No. 15 North Carolina (8-4, 1-3 ACC) on Saturday, Phaup went 18-of-30 at the faceoff X, including five straight wins in the second quarter itself. But his play wasn’t enough to help the Orange prevent their first losing season since 2007 as UNC won the last four battles at the X to halt an SU comeback.

Last season, Phaup struggled against Tucci, winning just 4-of-11 before he was pulled from the game. Tucci finished 15-of-23.

But over the summer, Phaup took reps against top collegiate faceoff specialists like Mike Sisselberger (Lehigh), Nicholas Ramsey (Yale), Jamie Zusi (Penn) and Tyler Sandoval (Princeton). One session was equal to two full seasons of repetitions, said Jerry Ragonese, one of the founders of the Faceoff Academy.

“He was able to get a master’s course (with) the best guys in the country every single week,” Ragonese said. “He’s like ‘OK, if I see this, I’m going to make this adjustment.’”

This season, that work has paid off for Phaup, who is 14th nationally with a 57.9% faceoff-winning percentage. He’s been the Orange’s go-to player at the X throughout the year with TD Ierlan as their new faceoff coach, and against the Tar Heels, he got off to a strong start again, going against Tucci and Andrew Tyeryar, who were both still aiding lower body injuries.

Phaup won the opening faceoff. Eventually, Jacob Buttermore got the ball behind the cage, running around the left side with a defender on him. Brendan Curry came from the center of the field for a timely screen, opening up enough space for Buttermore to send the ball into the back of the net.

On the ensuing faceoff, Phaup won again, able to clamp the ball against Tyeryar. But the ball flew out of bounds as Phaup tried to keep his stick high and advance. The Tar Heels took advantage as Dewey Egan found the back of the net 30 seconds later. After that, UNC got out to a 5-1 lead while the Orange missed their next 15 shots to end the quarter.

In the second quarter, though, Phaup didn’t make any mistakes. He flipped the ball to himself three times, and Nick Caccamo successfully picked up a ground ball on one. The Orange launched a 4-1 run in the period as well, heading into halftime only down by one score.

Phaup brought his momentum from the second quarter into the second half, though UNC opened the third quarter with a 4-0 run. Following a goal from Jackson Birtwistle, when a slide mishap left him wide-open cutting near the crease, Phaup got back into the faceoff X.

Against Tyeryar, Phaup was able to win the initial competition for the ball, clamping it to the turf. He took off and found Owen Seebold, who worked unassisted to find the back of the net with 15 seconds left in the period.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Phaup flipped the ball toward Max Rosa, who was at the wing for the faceoff unit. But Rosa was hit under the chin by Tyler Schwarz, falling to the ground as Schwarz headed to the sideline for the two-minute penalty.

Phaup went back to the X and won the initial clamp again versus Tucci. He quickly got the ball to Syracuse’s offense, and Curry found a cutting Pete Fiorini for his second goal of the season. Directly after that, the Tar Heels put in Tyeryar, who was able to push the ball outside of the X. But Brandon Aviles picked up the ball, finding Dordevic in the middle of the attack. Dordevic quickly flipped the ball behind his back on the left side to Curry, who found the top right corner of the net to cut UNC’s lead back to one.

Phaup again won on the ensuing faceoff, trapping the ball on the ground as he tried to get out of his stance. The ball fell under his body, and Aviles was there to help, taking the ball and running it himself this time directly toward the cage. His shot was saved, but a turnover by Cole Herbert on the other end allowed Birtwistle to find the back of the net less than two minutes later.

But Phaup’s success had run out as he didn’t win a faceoff for the rest of the evening. Curry gave Syracuse its first lead of the game, which was quickly erased by Lance Tillman. North Carolina had stopped its rotation with its faceoff specialists, keeping Tucci in the game for the final three faceoffs.

With the game tied at 13-13, Phaup returned to the X. He fought with Tucci on the ground, but the ball flew out of both players’ grasp. Instead, it rolled towards Schwarz, and the Tar Heels set up their attack to take the lead off a jumping Gray goal.

Published on April 16, 2022 at 8:00 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu