PRINCETON, N.J. — Brendan Conroy controlled 13-of-18 faceoffs and helped Syracuse earn possession throughout the final three quarters.

Conroy’s domination at the faceoff X paved the way for No. 8 Syracuse’s (7-2, 2-1 Big East) win over No. 7 Princeton (6-3, 2-1 Ivy) at Princeton Stadium on Saturday night. He replaced usual starter Chris Daddio at the 10:30 mark in the second quarter and carried SU to a 13-12 win over the Tigers. Princeton switched between Jeff Froccaro and Justin Murphy, but ultimately the day at the X belonged to Conroy and Syracuse.

“He’s been doing a good job all year, I think, and tonight he was able to get the ball out a little more and rely on our wings to come up with it,” SU head coach John Desko said.

The freshman won his first five faceoffs, punishing Murphy in the process. He and Daddio each saw time at the faceoff X throughout the second half.

With 5:27 left in the game, Conroy beat Murphy once again. Matt Harris picked up the ground ball – his team-high fifth of the game – and Henry Schoonmaker scored less than a minute later, which knotted the score at 12.

Harris and Schoonmaker each played a critical role in picking up the ground balls Conroy created. Schoonmaker finished with four ground balls along with four goals and consistently swung in to feed the ball to Syracuse’s offense.

Less than a minute later, Conroy came up in the clutch once again. Schoonmaker picked up the ground ball Conroy dug out. Marasco ended up scoring to give Syracuse the momentous win.

The offense came late in the game, an element of Syracuse’s attack that was missing in a loss to Villanova on March 23. Though SU trailed late in the fourth quarter Saturday, its strong play at the faceoff X carried the Orange to a comeback.

“We have confidence in our guys, especially on the offensive end,” Harris said. “When we give them the ball we’re going to score. I think that kind of showed today.”

Published on April 6, 2013 at 11:11 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass