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Oh, Syracuse is so back.
With pinpoint passing and highlight-worthy shooting, the Orange exploded for eight goals in the third quarter and held on to beat rival Johns Hopkins 14-13 in the main event of the Crown Lacrosse Classic in Charlotte, N.C.
Christian Mule and Jake Stevens scored three goals apiece, Joey Spallina had two goals and four assists and Owen Hiltz added two goals and three assists as 11th-ranked Syracuse picked up its first signature win of a season with elevated expectations.
Big lefty Garrett Degnon scored a game-high five goals for the third-ranked Blue Jays, who were coming off a marquee victory of their own at Virginia.
It was a nightcap befitting two college lacrosse heavyweights, neither of which has played in championship weekend since Hopkins made it that far in 2015. Syracuse’s last Memorial Day weekend appearance came two years earlier.
After a lackluster first half, the Orange and Blue Jays exchanged haymakers down the stretch, combining for 20 goals over the final 30 minutes.
Mason Kohn went 18-for-25 on faceoffs, but Syracuse at first struggled to capitalize on its surplus of possessions against Hopkins’ quick-sliding defense. The Orange started clicking early in the third quarter, scoring three goals in a 58-second span to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 advantage.
Syracuse stretched the lead to three by the end of the third quarter, punctuated by Michael Leo’s no-look backhand shot over his left shoulder with his back to the goal.
The Orange leaned on Princeton transfers and two-way midfielders Sam English and Jake Stevens to close the game. English made it 12-8 with an unassisted goal 56 seconds into the fourth quarter, Stevens took a ground ball off the faceoff all the way to score to make it 13-10 and then he finished a man-up opportunity with an overhand rip from just inside the restraining line to make it 14-11.
The Blue Jays had their moments too. Chayse Ierlan made 15 saves, including several point-blank stops. Degnon, meanwhile, demonstrated his versatility. The 6-foot-5 attackman scored from different areas of the field, creating several shots for himself and drawing a penalty with 2:40 remaining that led to Matt Collison’s man-up goal to pull Hopkins within one.
But Kohn won the next faceoff, Spallina hit the post on a shot that reset the shot clock and Syracuse effectively milked the remaining time.
The Blue Jays were just 11-for-17 clearing, including a turnover on their final opportunity with just eight seconds left.
After starting the season with seven straight home games — a front-loaded schedule due to renovations at JMA Wireless Dome — Syracuse was on the road for the first time. The Orange will play another neutral-site game next week against Delaware in Chantilly, Va.
Winless Brown gave No. 7 Maryland a surprisingly tough time, leading by three goals at one point in the third quarter and forcing overtime on a last-minute tally by Jack Kelly. But Daniel Maltz deposited his fourth goal of the game 42 seconds into the extra frame to give the Terps a 14-13 victory.
Braden Erska scored all of his career-high five goals in the second half and added three assists for Maryland, which improved to 3-0 in overtime games this season. The Terps were without All-American faceoff specialist Luke Wierman.
A week erasing a seven-goal deficit to beat Yale in overtime, Penn State needed no such comeback Saturday. The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions scored the first four goals and never relented, blowing out eighth-ranked Cornell 20-9.
It might have been the most surprising result of the day given the lopsided score and the Big Red’s penchant for their own offensive fireworks. They never materialized, however, as they shot just 9-for-41, committed 17 turnovers and were just 14-for-20 clearing.
Matt Traynor scored a career-high seven goals and TJ Malone surpassed 200 career points with his three-goal, four-assist performance.
Fifth-ranked Army improved to 6-0 with an 18-8 win over Holy Cross. NJIT and Quinnipiac also remained undefeated, beating Lindenwood and Canisius, respectively.
The other two unbeatens in Division I men’s lacrosse play Sunday. No. 1 Denver (5-0) hosts No. 14 Yale and No. 17 Harvard (5-0) plays at No. 12 Michigan.
Emmet Carroll made 16 saves to lead No. 13 Penn to an 11-8 win at Villanova. The senior and second-year starter has been sensational this season, accumulating double-digit saves in all six games. The only times he’s been under 50 percent — against Georgetown and North Carolina — were in the two games the 13th-ranked Quakers have lost.
Penn needed Carroll’s steadying performance considering Wildcats’ facecoff specialist Justin Coppola went 17-for-22 and neither team took particularly good care of the ball (35 combined turnovers).
After a six-day stretch saw all five ACC teams suffer losses, they’ve combined to go 10-0 in the last week.
Second-ranked Notre Dame followed its big win over Maryland with a 13-10 victory at Ohio State behind five goals and three assists from Chris Kavanagh. A sellout crowd at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium got its hopes up when the Buckeyes closed within one at the end of the third quarter, but the Fighting Irish ripped off four unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter.
Fourth-ranked Duke got right last Sunday against Princeton and the Blue Devils pulled away from Loyola in the second half Saturday to defeat the Greyhounds 16-10. Transfer portal steal Josh Zawada continued to impress with six assists.
Sixth-ranked Virginia got a combined 23 points out of its starting attack trio of Connor Shellenberger, Payton Cormier and McCabe Millon in a 19-15 win at Towson. Shellenberger had seven assists, becoming UVA’s all-time leader, and Cormier tied his career high with seven goals.
Freshman sensation Owen Duffy had four goals and five assists in his return to Long Island, leading 20th-ranked North Carolina to a 21-9 victory at Hofstra—the Tar Heels second straight win after defeating Penn last Sunday.
In addition to its win over Hopkins, Syracuse beat High Point earlier this week.
Vermont erupted for six fourth-quarter goals to defeat UMass 13-12. The Catamounts trailed for most of the game before Charlie Pope scored to give them their first lead with 11:41 remaining. Pope finished with a game-high five goals and Henry Dodge won 17 of 27 faceoffs. UMass goalie Matt Knote made 19 saves and scored his first career goal on a 90-yard bomb from behind his own net in the third quarter.
Jacksonville held off a furious High Point rally in the fourth quarter to defeat its former ASUN/SoCon foe 10-9. The Dolphins led by five with just over five minutes remaining. The Panthers scored four goals in a span of 3:39 to pull within one but missed on two potential game-tying attempts in the final seconds. The game was played in Charlotte as part of the Crown Lacrosse Classic.
Providence scored two goals in the final 57 seconds and then again in overtime to defeat Stony Brook 13-12. The Friars squandered an early lead and trailed 12-9 with less than five minutes remaining. Chris Cusolito completed the comeback and his hat trick when he scored on a dodge from the left wing with 2:06 left in overtime.
Matt DaSilva is the editor in chief of USA Lacrosse Magazine. He played LSM at Sachem (N.Y.) and for the club team at Delaware. Somewhere on the dark web resides a GIF of him getting beat for the game-winning goal in the 2002 NCLL final.
