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A controversial ending against No. 4 Maryland left Syracuse wondering what could’ve been. It had a chance for a marquee win to spark a program stuck in mediocrity the past two seasons. But the Orange fell short.

The question was, how would the Orange respond?

The answer was a sloppy albeit comfortable 18-7 win over Utah (0-3, Atlantic Sun). As it did in the first three games, No. 6 Syracuse (4-1, Atlantic Coast Conference) took care of business without much of a challenge. Led by a 14-of-18 effort at the faceoff X from Mason Kohn, SU’s offense put up at least 17 goals for the fourth time this season. And despite 18 turnovers, the Orange held Utah scoreless for 34 minutes while Will Mark registered a season-high 14 saves.

Syracuse’s defense propped up its offense as it went through droughts. SU went five minutes without a goal across the first and second quarters as well as an over 10-minute scoreless streak in the second half.

When making his opening statement at the postgame press conference, Syracuse head coach Gary Gait was less than thrilled. He said Syracuse “got the job done.” Nothing more, nothing less.

And even though the defense held an opponent to single digits for the fourth time this season, Mark was quick to point out SU’S lethargic start. Tyler Bradbury put Utah ahead three minutes in and though the Orange responded with two quick goals, Cody Hart tied the game at 2-2 with 8:32 left in the first.

Mark said Syracuse has all the tools to be great, especially on defense, but it needs to stick to the game plan from the start.

“Sometimes it takes a little slap in the face to kind of get going,” Mark said. “What we need to do defensively is come out a little bit harder and stronger and stick to the game plan a little bit earlier instead of waiting for something to happen.”

After a tough start, Syracuse found its rhythm. First, Christian Mulé cut around from X to finish off the post as SU led 3-2. Then, Joey Spallina found Owen Hiltz cutting in front of the net before Saam Olexo ripped one past Colin Lenskold in transition.

Then, the Orange used some trickery to cap off the first. Finn Thomson controlled the ball along the near sideline and acted as if he handed the ball off to Hiltz, who then wandered toward the net. But Utah didn’t realize Thomson still had the ball at the top of the defensive zone before scoring to put Syracuse up 7-3.

Turnovers, combined with ill-advised shots, culminated in a six-minute scoring drought for SU. But the Orange held Utah scoreless for the final 18 minutes of the first half and eventually Syracuse capitalized.

An errant pass from Lenskold — one of 12 first-half turnovers for the Utes — was picked up by Thomson. He found Spallina wide-open in the middle of the field for an easy finish. Thomson returned the favor two minutes later as Spallina flashed to the middle for SU’s fourth straight goal.

But Syracuse’s bad habits started to creep back in. Each time down the field, it was one and done. Four consecutive shots on separate possessions were denied before Spallina took matters into his own hands. He patiently waited at X for players to get free, but nobody did. Instead, Spallina cut around the cage, initiated contact with his defender and scored low to break a nearly seven-minute scoring drought.

For Syracuse’s offense to click, Spallina said everyone needs to be on the same page. He was quick to point out his game-high four turnovers and said sometimes SU likes to take the “rat poison” by forcing the ball into tight windows instead of taking their time.

But as Utah failed to take advantage of a stagnant SU offense, it allowed the Orange to get going. Another Bradbury turnover created a Syracuse break the other way. Billy Dwan fed the ball to Olexo, who fed a streaking Jake Spallina in the middle of the field. Jake proceeded to score his first-ever collegiate goal to put SU up 13-3 in the third.

Though the Utes held the Orange relatively quiet in the third, they struggled to score on their own end. Gait detailed that SU kept Utah to the outside, which gave Mark time to see shots coming from distance. Mark thwarted all 11 of Utah’s shots on goal across the second and third quarters.

“By limiting the quality of shots it really helped. And just playing good team defense,” Gait said. “We clicked there for two quarters.”

Jordan Hyde finally broke Utah’s 34-minute drought early in the fourth with back-to-back goals to get Utah within eight. But just as the Utes tried sneaking back, SU answered. Kohn won the ensuing faceoff and dished to Spallina for his third goal of the day to put Syracuse up 14-5.

To put the icing on the cake, Mulé corralled a rebound after Sam English’s shot was deflected. Mulé quickly whipped a behind-the-back finish for his second of the game and SU’s final goal.

Even with the lethargic display throughout portions of the game, Syracuse once again flexed its muscle. Each game of SU’s wins have been straight forward against teams it should beat. Now, it comes down to whether the Orange can win the big game.

“We know we have the scores to win the game, we have a defense to win games and we’re just you know, getting out of our mind as fast as possible,” Mark said.

Published on February 21, 2024 at 2:39 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22