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Billy Dwan forced a turnover on Princeton’s Lukas Stanat late in the fourth quarter as the Orange cleared the ball. On the ensuing possession, Syracuse drew two penalties, effectively eliminating any chance of a comeback. The Orange milked the fourth quarter clock, securing their biggest win of the season.

For the first time since a March 2022 win over then-No. 10 Duke, the Orange (7-5, 0-3 Atlantic Coast) defeated a ranked opponent, topping No. 15 Princeton (4-5, 1-2 Ivy League), 16-13. In the teams’ first meeting since 2013, SU held the lead throughout the entire first half. By the end, Joey Spallina had notched a career-high nine points.

Saam Olexo kicked off the fast start for the Orange, scoring within 15 seconds of the opening faceoff. Dodging from the right side, he positioned himself in front of the cage for the easy finish. After Princeton’s Coulter Mackesy tied it, Syracuse took over, jumping out to a 5-1 lead just under seven minutes into the game.

Luke Rhoa dodged down the left side missing his shot. But Spallina, positioned at X, dished the ball back out to Jackson Birtwistle. Birtwistle fired and scored. Finn Thomson and Cole Kirst added two more goals in a span of 10 seconds while Griffin Cook capped off the run on an assist from Owen Hiltz.

The Orange wouldn’t score again for over six and a half minutes, as Spallina missed a point-blank shot on the fast-break. Then, he had another shot saved by Michael Gianforcaro. Princeton added a pair of goals to counteract the brief scoring run, but eventually, Spallina got on the board to close the period.

At X, he wrapped around the crease. Ben Finlay tried to slash the ball out of his stick, but missed, leaving Spallina wide open. The freshman slipped it easily past Gianforcaro, scoring his 29th goal of the season.

Spallina notched the next goal for the Orange as well, early in the second period. On the man-up opportunity, the Tigers lost track of Spallina, who was camped out at the left side of the crease. Spallina caught the feed and swiftly scored.

The teams traded goals, as Princeton kept the Orange holding at most a three-or-four goal lead for the bulk of the second quarter. The Tigers used off-ball cutting runs to find gaps in the middle of the crease. Jack Ringhofer cut to the middle, splitting a couple Orange defenders. Christian Ronda dished it to him for the easy catch, turn and score. In an almost identical play, just on a man-up opportunity, Jake Stevens scored off an assist from Mackesy.

Mackesy, the back-to-back Ivy League Player of the Week, eventually cut the deficit to two goals just before Sean Cameron made it a one goal game as the Tigers notched three straight, trailing 10-9.

But Syracuse would re-extend its lead back to three. After Birtwistle hit the pipe on a close-range shot, Alex Simmons grabbed the ground ball and dished it behind-the-back to Spallina on the left side of the cage. Spallina found Micheal Leo across the crease who placed it in the back of the net.

Then, Spallina built a 12-9 halftime lead by making plays at X. For the third time, he went one-on-one with Finlay who, just like he did the previous two times, tried to check the ball, but consequently lost his positioning. Spallina scored his fourth goal of the afternoon and the Orange never trailed in the first half.

Syracuse picked up where it left off in the second. Brandon Aviles intercepted a Princeton pass from X, behind the counter attack. The Orange settled and slowed the possession down before finding Kirst. Kirst, from 15 yards away, slotted it home. Both sides traded goals back-and-forth with Alexander Vardaro dodging on the left side.

Vardaro drew the flag on his defender, but despite the contact, he slid the ball to the lower-right of the net to give the Tigers their 10th goal of the afternoon. Rhoa would respond, shooting from the right wing into the left side of the goal.

The Tigers trimmed the lead to two entering the fourth quarter. Tommy Barnds scored from just in front of the crease with an assist from Ringhofer as Syracuse still led 15-13. Last time out in the fourth quarter, the Orange collapsed, giving up nine consecutive goals to Notre Dame in the period before falling 20-12.

Spallina continued to excel at X, this time, dishing the ball to Thomson. Thomson found a small pocket right in front of the cage and Spallina passed it off, getting the assist.

Will Mark also made a few crucial saves, immediately getting the ball in transition to avoid the Princeton ride. Mark finished with 17 saves and a 56.7% save percentage against the Tigers, as Syracuse picked up its first ranked win of the season.

Published on April 8, 2023 at 2:23 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini