The first game of the Gary Gait era for Syracuse men’s lacrosse was a success — enough to get the Orange faithful thinking about the prospects of winning championships not just in the future, but as soon as 2022.

Owen Seebold and Tucker Dordevic each scored five goals as Syracuse cruised to a 28-5 victory over Holy Cross at the Carrier Dome on Saturday. Playing without an injured Owen Hiltz, the Orangemen saw 11 players score in the blowout. 

Syracuse took 31 shots in the first half and scored 19 goals, including four from Brendan Curry, who finished with six points. The Orange scored with top-shelf rockets, transition shots and a beautiful behind-the-back from Dordevic. The full depth of talent was on display. Defensively, Syracuse did not allow a goal until the second quarter.

With reserves playing much of the second half, Basil Aburn chipped in a pair of goals to cement the big win.

MARYLAND DOMINATES LOYOLA

Maryland men’s lacrosse impressed in its first game of the 2022 season, dispatching a tough High Point squad and dropping 21 goals in the process. Soon after, the Terps set their sights on their first top 10 opponent in a Loyola team that allowed under 10 goals per game in 2021.

If Saturday’s performance was any indication, Maryland’s offense, which lost Tewaaraton Award winner Jared Bernhardt after last season, will be one of the best in all of college lacrosse.

Logan Wisnauskas continued a strong start to his season with six points, as the Terps blew out their in-state rival 20-8 at Capital One Stadium. Jonathan Donville and Eric Malever each chipped in hat tricks in the high-powered performance. This is the first time ever that Maryland has opened its season with consecutive 20-goal games.

Maryland’s offense kept pace with Loyola in the first quarter but exploded in the second to take control of the game. Wisnauskas and faceoff man Luke Wierman each had a pair of tallies in a 10-goal second quarter that gave Maryland a 14-5 lead at halftime.

Eric Malever and Owen Murphy each had two goals in the second half, making it so that Loyola could not come within eight goals. 

ARMY SURVIVES AGAINST UMASS

Brendan Nichtern was as advertised on Saturday for Army, but the Golden Knights got all they could handle from a resilient UMass team at Mitchie Stadium.

Army led by as many as five goals in the first half and bythree goals with just minutes left but held on for a 14-13 season-opening victory. Nichtern had two goals in the fourth quarter, and Reese Burek’s goal with 1:13 remaining served as the game-winner.

The Black Knights nearly were forced to overtime. After Burek’s goal, UMass won the ensuing faceoff and cut the deficit to 14-12 with 48 seconds left. The Minutemen won another faceoff and pulled within a goal with 36 seconds left after a Shane O’Leary tally.

Army’s Joey Stillings picked up the ground ball on the next faceoff, allowing his team to run out of the clock and survive a tough test from UMass.

UTAH BEATS RANKED OPPONENT FOR FIRST TIME

Just a week after taking Denver to the brink, Utah made the trip to Vermont looking to pick up its first ranked win in school history and its first victory under new coach Andrew McMinn.

Leading by as many as five goals in the fourth quarter, Utah withstood a furious rally from Vermont and got a game-winner from Josh Rose to upset the Catamounts 11-10 for their first ranked victory in program history. Jared Andreala scored three goals, and Jordan Hyde had four points, to lead Utah to the historic win. 

Andreala had two goals in a back-and-forth first half that saw the Utes take a 5-3 victory in the break. Tyler Bradbury got hot in the third quarter, chipping in two goals to help Utah push its lead to four goals entering the final period. Despite losing the faceoff battle 14-11, Utah won five faceoffs in the third-quarter rally.

Hyde scored just 8 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Utah the 10-5 lead, and Vermont responded. Liam Limoges and Jonathan McConvey each scored twice in a five-goal rally that tied the score with 6:06 remaining.

Both teams struggled to find the go-ahead goal until a save from Zion Dechesere turned into a strong transition opportunity and a goal from Rose to make it 11-10. Vermont won the ensuing faceoff but could not get a shot off in the final minute.

VILLANOVA WINS AT PANZER

Patrick Daly scored six goals in Villanova’s matchup with Penn State at Panzer Stadium, but it was arguably his easiest tally that mattered the most.

Daly picked up a ground ball following a scrum in front of goal, stood up and flipped in the goal that gave the Wildcats a 13-12 lead with one minute remaining and the eventual season-opening victory. Daly finished the game a perfect 6-for-6 on shots.

Daly had a first-half hat trick that allowed Villanova to jump out to an 8-3 lead in the second quarter. Penn State’s offense came alive in the third quarter, though, thanks to a five-goal rally that tied the score at 10 early in the fourth quarter. 

The fourth quarter featured three different ties at 10, 11 and 12, with neither team able to pull away. Penn State knotted the score with 1:24 left on Will Peden’s third goal of the game. A few seconds later, Daly picked up the easy goal in front of the cage.

The Nittany Lions won the ensuing faceoff, but Villanova goalie Will Vitton made a huge save with 7 seconds left on a shot from Jack Kelly to seal the win.

DENVER STRONG AGAINST AIR FORCE

In another edition of the Rocky Mountain Rivalry, Denver put together a complete performance.

JJ Sillstrop had five points and Alex Simmons chipped in a hat trick to help the Pioneers lead throughout a 13-9 victory over their in-state rivals. The win overshadowed a six-goal game from Air Force’s Brenden Crouse.

However, what stood out the most from the Denver victory was the play of LSM Malik Sparrow, who picked up three caused turnovers, two of them at crucial moments.

NOTABLE

• Ross Scott continued a torrid start to the 2022 season with five goals and an assist in Rutgers’ 23-6 victory over St. John’s. Brian Cameron also dropped five points in the win.

• Mike Sisselberger won 14 of 16 faceoffs and Christian Mule scored four goals to lead Lehigh to the 10-5 victory over NJIT.

• Bryant took 57 shots and Marc O’Rourke tallied five points in Bryant’s 19-7 victory over Providence. Bennett Abladian and Aidan Goltz each had a hat trick in the strong offensive performance.

• Marquette earned an extra-man opportunity entering the third overtime period thanks to an unnecessary roughness call on Bellarmine’s Jon Robbins. Bobby O’Grady took advantage, ripping a top-shelf winner in the Golden Eagles’ opener, a 9-8 victory.

• Delaware took down a Mount St. Mary’s team off to a good start, using a hat trick from Clay Miller to cruise to the 12-6 win.

HOW THE NIKE/USAL TOP 20 FARED

No. 2 Maryland defeated No. 7 Loyola 20-8
No. 10 Rutgers defeated St. John’s 23-6
No. 11 Lehigh defeated NJIT 10-5
No. 12 Denver defeated Air Force 13-9
No. 13 Army defeated UMass 14-13
No. 14 Syracuse defeated Holy Cross 28-5
No. 16 Delaware defeated Mount St. Mary’s 12-6
Utah defeated No. 19 Vermont 11-10
No. 20 Bryant defeated Providence 19-7

FULL SCOREBOARD

Boston U 12, Merrimack 10
Bucknell 14, Robert Morris 12
Hobart 22, Canisius 13
Hofstra 21, Sacred Heart 9
Lafayette 14, VMI 6
LIU 14, Siena 7
Marist 11, Binghamton 9
Marquette 9, Bellarmine 8 (3OT)
Michigan 21, Detroit Mercy 5
Navy 15, Mercer 5
Ohio State 17, Cleveland State 9
Quinnipiac 15, UMass Lowell 14 (OT)
Saint Joseph’s 12, St. Bonaventure 11 (OT)
Stony Brook 13, Fairfield 12
Villanova 13, Penn State 12