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It took Joey Spallina just four games to produce one of the flashiest goals in his Syracuse career. It took Maryland just nine seconds to respond.

Saturday’s contest against the Terrapins featured back-and-forth play from two talented offenses. After Spallina’s goal, the Orange trailed by two goals against Maryland, coming off its first loss since 2020. But the defending national champs strung together a 3-0 fourth quarter run to end any chance of a Syracuse comeback.

Here’s a look at Spallina’s score and the fourth quarter defensive collapse against the Terrapins:

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Spallina only scored once on Saturday. But if there was any doubt that he would not live up to his No. 22, that was shattered after his behind-the-back, no-look goal.

Gary Gait said after the UAlbany game that Spallina’s biggest issue in SU’s season-opener was he wasn’t running fast enough from the X, allowing a defender who’s turned the other way to keep up.

Spallina didn’t go full speed at times against Maryland, but he jetted off from his position right after Owen Hiltz took possession. Brett Makar looped around the other side of the goal, almost catching up to Spallina, until the freshman cut perfectly so Hiltz could complete the pass, giving Makar the inside leverage.

Spallina brought his stick up and slightly to his left side, forcing Makar to inch towards his left shoulder. That freed up Spallina’s right shoulder to pull off the shot, and he didn’t have to look at the goal to strike on target.

Pick your poison

The collapse was imminent. Johnny Richiusa’s first and only penalty came on an illegal procedure right after Spallina’s goal. The Orange were a man down but the mistake could have been easily avoided.

The Terrapins established their offense with Jack Koras at the X, having Daniel Maltz cut on the left side of the goal. Max Rosa did exactly what he’s supposed to, following Maltz right after taking his stick off of Kyle Long.

No one took up Rosa’s position on Long. Instead, both Billy Dwan and Jordan Beck remained focused on Maltz, bodies facing the cage. Dwan should have switched with Rosa or communicated with Beck to get in front of Long. The lack of communication led to an easy score for Maryland, which completely fooled SU’s defense.

Bait and switch

This play is very similar to the last one, as the Terrapins again confused the Orange’s defense. Maryland continuously made Syracuse’s defenders follow one player, hoping to make them converge on the wrong guy. When they did, the Terrapins had uncontested shots on goal.

Maltz was the decoy again, unmarked before Carter Rice sprinted over to guard him. Rice left his man, Koras, hoping Beck would quickly fill his spot.

Beck reacted, but only when Long brought his stick up to pass. Instead, Beck should have pressed up against Koras immediately after Rice vacated his position on him to prevent the open look.

Koras’ shot is perfect. Will Mark had his right heel on the left side of the cage, lunging to the opposite side of the goal because he thought Koras would shoot there. But Koras seemed to think ahead himself, expecting Mark to relocate to the uncovered part. Mark’s movement left his original position wide open, leading to Maryland’s 14th score.

Same field, different uniform

The dagger came from Dante Trader Jr., who played defensive back for the Terrapins football team a few months ago. Trader fell to the turf trying to navigate the Orange’s ride before taking off down the middle of the field.

Syracuse did what it was supposed to defensively, maintaining its focus on Maryland’s premier attacks. Saam Olexo was the closest to Trader and tried to pry the ball out of his stick.

But Trader cut back to the left, cradled the ball and wound up from 12 yards out. Trader shot low and Mark immediately dove to the turf, but the ball bounced over his stick. The open shot could have been avoided if someone closer to the cage came up to help Olexo, instead of leaving him alone against one of the most athletic Maryland midfielders.

Published on February 21, 2023 at 10:56 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu