Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Tucker Dordevic answered Cornell’s 14th score of the game with the supposed dagger. And with fewer than two minutes left in regulation, the Orange would have to trust their faceoff unit or defense to secure the upset.

The Big Red’s Angelo Petrakis easily won at the X and Cornell took a timeout. John Piatelli, who had eight points heading into the possession, took control of the Big Red’s offense, charging down the left side. He sent the ball towards the cage, but it went right above the pipe. Cornell got the ball back and Piatelli repeated the same play.

But with 20 seconds left in the shot clock, Piatelli still had plenty of time to set back up. Instead of settling far from goal, he went right to the crease. Grant Murphy stayed close to Piatelli and Nick Caccamo started to slide over as well. But Caccamo left Michael Long wide-open at the crease, allowing Piatelli to make an easy flip for the tying score.

“(We) held them down to under 10 seconds in shot-clock and they found their open guy there,” head coach Gary Gait said. “They played with great composure and they made plays, they made the jump.”

In overtime, the Big Red showed up at the X again and after a timeout, Hugh Kelleher iced the game. Syracuse (4-7, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) had allowed only six scores in the first half, but No. 5 Cornell (10-1, 3-1 Ivy League) almost matched that total in the third quarter itself with five goals to ultimately win 16-15. Bobby Gavin only made four saves in the final two frames while SU forced just three turnovers.

Throughout the first half, Syracuse’s defense kept tight pressure on Cornell’s attacks, properly calling switches and slides which the team had missed in previous games. Defender Brett Kennedy said that the communication was one of the best the Orange had throughout the season, as with five minutes left in the first period, Kennedy perfectly timed his slide over to help guard CJ Kirst, forcing a crucial shot clock violation.

But at the start of the second half, Syracuse’s defense allowed the Big Red their second 2-0 run of the game. The run started a minute into the third period following a ground ball pickup from Harrison Bardwell. Cornell immediately set up on offense, and Kirst found a wide-open Piatelli for his fourth goal of the game. A few minutes later, Billy Coyle went down the middle of the Orange’s defense. He was left unmarked, notching the score off a pass from Long.

Syracuse answered back with a goal from Brendan Curry, but the Big Red immediately got on the board off a score from Piatelli almost a minute later. Piatelli assisted on the Big Red’s next score, finding Coyle wide-open. Saam Olexo lost sight of Coyle who slid over to help on Piatelli, allowing Coyle to walk free near the crease.

Without taking a step, Coyle easily secured the ball and sent it into the back of the net for a quick goal to bring Cornell within three. Kennedy said that on similar plays, Syracuse was able to execute properly, which he said the team struggled with when it allowed 22 goals against Notre Dame, but it would overreact on slides.

“Sometimes there were some plays where we were showing a little bit too much help too, or some plays that we weren’t showing enough,” Kennedy said.

Another goal from Cornell kept it within a score of the Orange heading into the final frame. And at the start of the fourth quarter, the Big Red continued to find holes in the Orange’s defense. They did this by swinging the ball around as much as possible, which, three minutes into the fourth period, landed in the stick of Kelleher, who scored unassisted.

“There’s no five-goal goals out there,” Cornell head coach Connor Buczek said. “We weren’t going to get back in one possession, but chip by chip we worked back at the team.”

Cornell won at the faceoff X directly after Kelleher’s score, getting back into its offense. A minute into the shot clock, Long found Piatelli to give the Big Red their first lead of the game.

SU improved offensively in the final quarter, finding the back of the net three times compared to just once in the third period. But the Big Red had an answer for each of the Orange’s scores, finding the back of the net after Curry scored again to give SU the advantage.

Buczek said that he told his offense to continue running their offensive sets, looking to score even if the second, third or fourth dodges weren’t successful. And the Big Red were awarded a man-up opportunity with eight minutes left in the fourth period.

Kennedy stayed close to Kirst, but with Syracuse shorthanded, Kirst found Danny Caddigan open near the crease, who used his right hand to find the top right corner of the net, tying the game at 14-14.

Cornell’s second-to-last goal sent the game into overtime, and Syracuse’s defensive issues didn’t disappear. Out of a timeout, the Big Red circled the ball around offensively, waiting for Syracuse’s defense to slip. Again, Caccamo was found out of position, sliding towards Kelleher too late with 19 seconds left in the shot clock. Kelleher scored, and Cornell’s bench stormed the Carrier Dome field while Syracuse’s players took their helmets off in disbelief.

“Biggest thing for us was trying to get to the goal and read,” Buczek said. “We were being patient.”

Published on April 11, 2022 at 11:28 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu