PRINCETON, N.J. — Princeton defender Derick Raabe sunk to the ground and planted his face in the red and black shield at midfield. He remained motionless for 10 seconds, stunned by what transpired. Finally Raabe got up and trudged off the field.

Syracuse attack Kevin Rice, meanwhile, pumped his fist and sprinted toward the net where he and his teammates mobbed goalie Dominic Lamolinara.

The Orange’s comeback was complete.

No. 8 Syracuse (7-2, 2-1 Big East) bounced back from a two-goal deficit with under six minutes remaining to knock off No. 7 Princeton (6-3, 2-1 Ivy) 13-12 at Princeton Stadium on Saturday night in front of 4,610. After struggling to close out the first three quarters, the Orange – fueled by Henry Schoonmaker and JoJo Marasco – finished the fourth quarter strongly to come away with the win.

“It was pretty thrilling,” Schoonmaker said. “A lot of guys hustled on ground balls, it was just intense, and it was great to pull out the win.”

Schoonmaker finished with a career-high four goals, the fourth coming with 4:31 to go in the game. He caught a pass from Marasco and whizzed a lefty shot over the left shoulder of Princeton goalie Matt O’Connor.

The game was tied at 12. The Orange had a chance to do what it failed to do the entire game: close out the quarter.

That’s exactly what Syracuse did. Marasco caught the ball five feet outside the crease. The 5-foot-10 Marasco had 6-foot-7 long-stick midfielder Alex Beatty on him, so he used his quickness to burst toward the net. Beatty altered his shot, but Marasco still scored. Syracuse led 13-12 and held on for the win.

“(Marasco’s) kind of our go-to guy in that situation and it just shows why he wears (No.) 22,” long-stick midfielder Matt Harris said. “I think he gets a lot of criticism, but he really shines in that 22. I think it showed with that last goal.”

Though Syracuse had to come from behind in the game’s final minutes, the Orange led most of the game. SU flew out to a quick 3-0 lead on two goals by Schoonmaker and one by Matt Walters.

But Princeton stormed back at the end of the quarter, as it did in every quarter but the fourth. Jake Froccaro and Mike MacDonald scored in the final three minutes as Princeton cut the deficit to one.

SU head coach John Desko said he wasn’t surprised Princeton came back on Syracuse multiple times. There was a reason why the teams were virtually tied in the polls entering Saturday’s matchup. There was a reason the Tigers beat Johns Hopkins and Villanova.

“With the offensive firepower they have we expect them to come back in games,” Desko said. “Two, three goals isn’t enough with a team like this.”

That proved true in the second quarter as well. Once again, the Orange took a lead, but once again Princeton responded. Jeff Froccaro, Jake’s older brother, rifled a right-handed shot that flew by defender Kyle Carey and Lamolinara and tied the game at 5.

The trend continued in the third. Goals by Marasco and Schoonmaker were negated as Tom Schreiber and Kip Orban tacked on one each for the Tigers. Then in the final minute of the quarter, MacDonald scored twice from right outside the crease, putting Princeton up 9-7.

Desko acknowledged after the game that his team has struggled closing out quarters lately. Against Villanova on March 23 – Syracuse’s most recent loss – the Orange surrendered goals with nine seconds, 17 seconds and four seconds to go in the first three quarters, respectively.

“We seem to be – I don’t know why that is – but other teams seem to be scoring with just a few seconds left to go in the quarter,” Desko said. “It’s probably the fact that they know they have so little time left and they made some good plays.”

But in the fourth quarter Saturday, Syracuse put an end to the trend. Princeton seized a 12-10 lead on a goal by Jeff Froccaro with 6:57 to go. Froccaro curled toward the middle with Brian Megill chomping at his heels. He had a tiny window of space, but that was all he needed.

All signs pointed toward a Princeton win, but Syracuse had other ideas.

Billy Ward cut the deficit to one, and then Schoonmaker’s and Marasco’s heroics sealed the deal.

“It was a great win for us. We’re on the road and we think Princeton’s a terrific team,” Desko said. “Having a couple two-goal, maybe three-goal leads in the first half and then finding ourselves behind in the fourth quarter it was really big for our guys to come back, regain the lead and win the game.”

Published on April 6, 2013 at 10:36 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass