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ITHACA, N.Y. — Michael Long originally set his career-high in points (eight) in Cornell’s 18-15 win over Princeton on April 30, 2022. Tuesday, he had a chance to break it against Syracuse with a little over five minutes left in regulation.

Following a turnover from Jake Stevens, the Big Red reset on offense after a misfire from Spencer Wirtheim. Long stationed himself at the right of the crease, immediately dropping a pass from Willem Firth into the back of the net for his ninth point.

Long’s score brought Cornell within one of SU. Five minutes later, two goals gave the Big Red their first lead of the night. Then, in double overtime, CJ Kirst delivered the final dagger.

“For (Long) to get going really sets us up for success, usually when he gets going a lot of other people get going,” Cornell head coach Connor Buczek said postgame.

This season, SU’s defense has stacked up strong performances against some of the best attacks in the country. They held reigning Tewaaraton winner Brennan O’Neill to one goal on March 20. This past weekend, they kept Pat and Chris Kavanagh to three combined goals.

But No. 4 Syracuse (9-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no answer for Long, No. 13 Cornell’s (6-3, 2-1 Ivy League) leading scorer, in its 17-16 loss. Long kickstarted the Big Red’s offense in the second quarter before shepherding a 7-0 run in the second half. He set a season-high with five goals and tied a season-high with five assists, helping Cornell score the most goals against SU this season.

“The way our offensive unit works, it ticks,” Long said. “It’s going to be someone every day, I was lucky to be that person today.”

Syracuse’s defense went through monumental changes before the start of this season. The Orange hired John Odierna, who helmed the best defense nationally in 2023 at Manhattan, to replace Dave Pietramala following two disappointing years at SU. They also introduced a new top cover guy in Riley Figueiras, who missed last year with a torn right ACL.

Odierna’s and Figuerias’ additions, along with the return of Will Mark and Billy Dwan, immediately reaped benefits. SU dominated defensively through its opening three nonconference tests, allowing just three goals to Manhattan. In overtime losses to Maryland and Army, the defense wasn’t the issue as Syracuse forfeited offensive opportunities to put the game away late.

Then came the Duke game. The Blue Devils entered the game as the No. 1 offense in the country, leaving the JMA Wireless Dome with only four goals scored. Mark set a career-high 77.8% save percentage while Dwan silenced O’Neill.

Early against Cornell, that same defensive prowess emerged. The Big Red coughed the ball up four times in the first quarter as Figueiras and Dwan each caused a turnover. They only tallied four shots on goal and eight overall.

But Cornell’s luck changed nearing the end of the first quarter. After Kirst curled from X and found the back of the net to put the Big Red on the scoreboard, Long mimicked the same play.

With 15 seconds left in the period, Long roamed to the right side of the goal from X. Unlike Kirst, he was left completely unmarked, easily firing a lefty strike into the back of the net.

Following Long’s goal, Syracuse associate head coach Part March contested a call from the referees. Postgame, head coach Gary Gait said a referee put a hand in March’s face and “something happened” which he didn’t see.

Whatever did happen, March was ejected from the game, granting Cornell the chance at a man-up at the start of the second quarter. And Long took full advantage.

For the first man-up score, Long located Kirst deep on the right wing. Then, Kirst returned the favor, allowing Long to attempt a straight rip from 10 yards out still on the man-up.

“All we had to do was pick up the pace, the tempo,” Long said. “Luckily, I was able to get us going and we were able to start well and find a rhythm toward the end of the game.”

Gait said the Big Red’s seven man-up opportunities did make a difference in the outcome, especially with the few penalties that were unreleasable. Long said Cornell’s man-up offense is something that’s been a work in progress all season, preventing them from upsetting Denver on Feb. 24.

“I thought today we were pretty lights out, making those plays when we needed to,” Long said. “That Denver game we lost because of the man-up unit, I think we might have won it today.”

With a minute left in the first half, Cornell was awarded another man-up opportunity after an interference penalty from Finn Thomson. The Big Red scored on the man-up again with a familiar duo as Long located Kirst for a goal. With a minute left in the third quarter, they did the same thing.

Kirst said his connection with Long goes back to their time playing alongside each other at the Delbarton School (New Jersey). Since Kirst is lefty and Long is righty, they’ve had a knack for finding each other. They worked together on four goals Tuesday.

Buczek said Cornell started playing with pace and sharing the ball more in the second quarter, leading to eight goals. They began putting pressure at the beginning of offensive sets or stringing out possessions as long as possible, depending on how SU’s defense reacted.

In the second half, that dominance continued. The Big Red matched the Orange with two goals in the third quarter. Then, in the fourth quarter, Long’s ninth point was part of a 7-0 Cornell run that completely shifted the momentum.

Kirst said the attack’s success (and the win) wasn’t possible without Long’s early contribution.

“You don’t come away with that win unless you’re believing the whole time,” Long said.

Published on April 3, 2024 at 12:59 am

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu