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Syracuse entered its matchup against Robert Morris with its postseason hopes on the line. With no Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, the Orange came out for one last game before the NCAA Tournament. A win wouldn’t be much of a resume-booster, but a loss to the unranked Colonials could’ve been damning to an Orange team teetering on the bubble.

SU didn’t have to worry about much, though. Jamie Trimboli scored within the first 30 seconds, and the Orange left the first quarter with a 9-5 lead. Syracuse never trailed, and SU’s 21 goals were its most this season.

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s (7-5, 2-4 ACC) win over the Colonials (7-6):

Jakob Phaup’s resurgence

Jakob Phaup has struggled throughout the entire season. He won less than a quarter of his faceoffs against Duke and went 9-for-27 in SU’s 22-8 loss to Notre Dame last week.

But Phaup excelled against Robert Morris, winning 17-of-22 first-half faceoffs against Michael Autry and Johnny Chaisson. His 24 faceoff wins tied a career-high for the junior, the sixth most all-time by a Syracuse FOGO.

Phaup also set a career-high in ground balls, picking up 16 off his wins. Off the first faceoff, Phaup propelled the ball behind him and quickly turned around to corral the loose ball. He sent a quick pass to Brett Kennedy before jogging off the field.

Kennedy took a long pole shot that missed, but Trimboli scored later in the possession. Trimboli’s score gave Syracuse a 1-0 lead, one it would not surrender for the rest of the outing.

Hats off

Three Syracuse players scored at least three goals, and Stephen Rehfuss finished with five points off two goals and three assists. Owen Seebold and Owen Hiltz both finished their hat tricks in the first half, with Tucker Dordevic finding the net for the third time early in the second half. Hiltz scored a career-high seven goals, and Seebold notched five of his own.

Syracuse’s scores came off quick play from faceoff wins. After a second-quarter faceoff win by Syracuse, Rehfuss sent a skip pass across the crease. Seebold scooped it up and jumped while shooting. RMU goalie Ben Savick couldn’t move across the crease quick enough, and Seebold scored to extend SU’s lead to 14-9.

The Orange dominated offensively for the remainder of the game, adding seven more scores before the final buzzer. Syracuse finished with more shots on goal (41) than Robert Morris did total shots (39).

Goaltending struggles

Despite Syracuse’s win against the Colonials, Drake Porter had one of the worst games of his career. The graduate student made just nine saves while allowing 14 goals. His 39.1% save percentage is his lowest this season against an unranked opponent.

Porter’s biggest vice was RMU’s Ryan Smith. Smith scored seven goals in as many shots on goal, with each goal seemingly more impressive than the last.

In the fourth quarter, Smith dodged Grant Murphy, spun around Max Rosa and ripped a shot over Nick Hapney’s shoulder to score what was likely the final goal in his Colonials career. Porter lifted his stick to try and snag the ball in the air, but he missed it, and the ball sailed past him for the last score of the game.

Published on May 7, 2021 at 6:32 pm

aekaylor@syr.edu | @cincinnallie