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Aidan Byrnes raised both hands high above his head as he ran behind the Syracuse net and toward the end zone. Off a feed from Danny Kielbasa, Byrnes scored his second goal with just 14 seconds left in the first half to give Army its first lead of the game. The Black Knights (1-1) stretched out the margin throughout the second half, dominating Syracuse (0-1) at the Carrier Dome on Sunday, 18-11.

Here are three takeaways from the Orange’s season-opening loss.

Transition trouble

In the first quarter with a scoreless Army, Chase Scanlan’s turnover was taken the other way. Brett Kennedy didn’t step up to Byrnes coming downhill as he ripped a shot past SU goalie Drake Porter. In the second quarter, Syracuse nearly grabbed a midfield turnover, but Army found the ground ball and ran into the offensive zone for Doug Jones to score.

Army struggled in simply clearing the ball against Virginia last week, going 10-for-19. In the week since, the Black Knights solved that issue and turned it into a strength. They turned to quick offense for three of their eight first-half goals with the Syracuse defense struggling to get set. It kept Army in the game before it dominated the second half.

Brendan Nichtern magic

One year ago at the Dome, Brendan Nichtern picked up four points in the first half but disappeared for the rest of the game as Syracuse came back to win. This time, the story played out in reverse. Nichtern began slow, but ended the afternoon with seven points. A pair of first half man-up goals kept the Black Knights in the game. He sat at the crease and received the backside pass before tucking the ball past Porter both times.

In 2020, Kennedy handled the matchup well. But this season, Army forced switches, often and Nichtern made quick work of short-stick defenders. Nichtern added a pair of fourth-quarter goals to get to 12 points through two games on the season and showed the magic he was missing last year.

Tucker time

Tucker Dordevic picked up a first-quarter hat trick, the catalyst for Syracuse’s offensive start and early 6-1 lead. Against a long pole to start, Dordevic cut across the middle of the offensive zone from right to left and fired high, beating Army goalie Wyatt Schupler. Later, he showed off his footwork with a quick change of direction on the left wing. He faked going right before planting and went left to open up space for a second goal.

Dordevic ended the afternoon with four goals, an assist and a shot off the post. In a day where much of Syracuse’s offense dwindled away after the first quarter, Dordevic seemed the Orange’s most consistent threat.

Published on February 21, 2021 at 2:32 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder