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Hobart rushed to a 2-0 lead against Syracuse for the second straight year. The Statesmen attacked from behind the cage, their attacks effortlessly forcing SU’s defenders to stumble to the turf before both scores. 

But Joey Spallina, the Orange’s go-to X attack, hadn’t shot yet. Seven minutes into the first half, he bolted to the right side of the goal, pressed himself up against Hobart defender Michael Christiansen. 

The minimal space was enough for Spallina to rattle off a shot he’s practiced hundreds of times before. He looked over Christiansen’s left shoulder to check where the goal was before twisting his stick behind his back. He whipped the ball past Christiansen’s right shoulder, skipping it into the goal for Syracuse’s first score. 

The goal sparked a 3-0 run in less than 90 seconds and a 7-0 run which Hobart didn’t respond to until 13 minutes later. Syracuse (6-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) held onto the Kraus-Simmons trophy with a 18-7 win over Hobart (4-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10). This was the Orange’s eighth straight win in the rivalry and their 33rd victory since the trophy was introduced in 1986. 

“Our players stepped up, did a nice job of competing and did what they needed to do to keep the cup here in Syracuse,” head coach Gary Gait said. 

The Statesmen like to dwell at the X as much as SU. John Jude Considine made his way to the position a minute into the first possession of the afternoon. Considine took on his defender alone behind the goal, spinning to his right at first. He immediately dodged left and ripped the ball into the back of the net once he was in front of the cage. 

Anthony Dattellas held possession for the Statesmen four minutes later and Chad Bach came over to set a pick on his defender. Dattellas waved him off, pointing to the vacant spot behind the cage, which was Bach’s to fill.

Dattellas lofted the ball to Bach after he reached the X, allowing him to take on Jake Murphy. Bach forced Murphy onto the turf and slotted the ball past Will Mark’s feet to give Hobart a 2-0 lead.

“We have the tendency to start a little slow, we need to come out of the gate a little faster,” Mark said. 

Mark said there were no adjustments for the defense but Jack Fine replaced Johnny Richiusa in the faceoff circle after Spallina’s behind-the-back goal. Richiusa had lost three straight faceoffs but Fine won easily against Adam Shea. He scooped the ball to his left side, trapped it and finished the clear. Michael Leo scored 30 seconds later.

Fine mimicked his earlier approach to win again and Hiltz took possession on the right side. From 10 yards out, Hiltz sprinted downfield, spun back to his left where he saw Jackson Birtwistle wide open. Birtwistle fired the ball into the top left corner, completing a three-goal run in 90 seconds.

Head coach Gary Gait said the 2-0 lead Hobart had was not one to panic about. This year’s squad had been in a similar situation against Hofstra, down by double the goals, before coming back.

“We have confidence in these guys if we’re down a couple of goals,” Gait said. “We responded.”

The Statesmen got on the board again five minutes into the second quarter when Dattellas challenged Max Rosa, moving left to right to get Rosa out of position. Eventually, Dattellas gained a step on Rosa by cutting right and he launched the ball into the back of the net. 

Hobart scored less than a minute later as Aviles failed to stop Bradley Simas from his path straight to the crease. But Mark stopped the next three Hobart attempts though Dattellas almost snuck the ball in on the second. Mark had deflected the ball behind his heels but he trapped it before it could roll in. 

Leo recorded two goals in the first period, isolating himself from anywhere in front of the cage for an open attempt. Gait said he was one of the best one-on-one dodgers on the team and he got the ball alone with 53 seconds left in the first half. Leo spun to his left on the left side, shooting over Wilson to grant SU a 9-4 lead.

“We’re going to keep taking the short stick matchup and if they’re not sliding, we’re going to go to the hole and shoot,” Leo said.

SU extended its lead to seven in the third quarter following scores from Cole Kirst and John Cohen. Spallina located Kirst from the X, sprinting to his right while Kirst cut to his right in the middle of the field. Spallina tossed the ball over the cage and Kirst had to bend down to snag it. He did before redirecting it into the back of the net while his toes hugged the edge of the crease.

Hobart scored midway through the third quarter with a man-up opportunity but two more goals gave the Orange their largest lead of the afternoon at that point. Spallina capped off the run alone, positioned behind the cage. 

The Statesmen had kept a defender completely off him at times to focus on getting in between any passes he could make over the goal. Spallina made them regret that decision though, sprinting to the left side of the cage with free range. He skipped the ball into the back of the net, giving SU a 13-5 lead. 

The Orange strung together two more scores but John Herlihy finished off a Hobart possession by rocketing the ball through Mark’s legs. Still, SU quickly answered back through Spallina, of course. 

Spallina backed down Christiansen near the X, forcing his way to the right of the goal. He embraced the contact and tried to look over Christiansen’s shoulder again. 

This time, Spallina couldn’t see anything. Still, he brought his stick over his right shoulder like he did 40 minutes earlier. Same shot, same result. 

“I didn’t really look or have any idea where it was going to go,” Spallina said. “I just aimed low and it went in.”

Published on March 25, 2023 at 3:19 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu