BALTIMORE — Pat Spencer’s final career game at the Ridley Athletic Complex was a masterpiece, a three-goal, six-assist tour de force to spur eighth-seeded Loyola into the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
Just don’t forget about the rest of the Greyhounds, who summoned stirring performances — some entirely expected, some in surprising fashion — to rally past Syracuse for a 15-13 victory on Saturday.
Loyola (12-4) has come to count on Spencer, who added to his statistical accolades by becoming Division I’s career assists leader and the first Greyhound to ring up 100 points in a season. The same can be said for goalie Jacob Stover, whose double-digit saves streak stretches back to last May.
At its weakest, Loyola’s groundball play has left it vulnerable, as it did in the first half against the Orange (9-5). Its faceoff play wasn’t particularly memorable early in the season, but grew stronger through the spring. Midfield punch, beyond freshman Chase Scanlan, has proven elusive.
So when it all comes together, like it did in Saturday’s second half? It means Spencer’s showing in his matchup against Syracuse junior Nick Mellen is merely the beginning, and not the end, of the Greyhounds’ strength.
“I felt like I had him from the start,” Spencer said. “He’s a good player. I just think there was a spot on the field I was able to get to. That’s a credit to my teammates. The spacing on the field is critical. It’s tough to guard one guy, no matter who it is, in the open field.”
The last 30 minutes — and the final 18 especially — might not have been Loyola at its best, but it was close. The Greyhounds trailed much of the afternoon and were sputtering down 12-8 before Syracuse gifted them with consecutive extra-man chances.
Aidan Olmstead deposited a Spencer feed to cap the first, then assisted Scanlan on the next as Loyola finally got on track.
Spencer would assist on the next two goals to bring the Greyhounds even and pass former Albany attackman Lyle Thompson with his 226th career feed, but it was more telling who finished the chance to tie it: Midfielder P.J. Brown, a season-long starter who began the day with four goals.
Moments later, Brown scored off a John Duffy pass to give Loyola the lead for good. It was the first time this year Brown, Duffy and Scanlan each scored multiple goals.
“I definitely feel that personally, I haven’t been doing my job this year …,” said Duffy, who recorded his fourth multi-goal game and first since March 30. “Whatever we can do to support Pat and the guys down low adds way more threats to our offense.”
Loyola’s opportunities to do damage became more plentiful in part because of faceoff man Bailey Savio and his wing play. Syracuse was 9 of 13 on faceoffs to open the game before Savio claimed 14 of the last 18 to help swing possession in favor of the Greyhounds.
But it wasn’t just faceoffs that contributed to Loyola’s ground ball turnaround — a 31-19 deficit in the first half preceded a 25-13 edge after the break.
“In the second half, we had to do a good job of getting those groundballs,” Stover said. “There were a few times where I’d make a save, but I’d give up a rebound and they’d get a second opportunity. We knew off the ground that we had to better.”
With faceoffs and the offense both in sync, it applied significant pressure on a Syracuse defense that didn’t have to play much in the early going. It didn’t have that luxury later in the game.
“Frankly, our wings had to play so much because our wings are defensive players and wings on the faceoff, which is pretty grueling,” coach John Desko said. “I think it took its toll on us, especially in the fourth quarter.”
By that point, Stover (16 saves) found a rhythm. Credit some of it to exploiting Syracuse’s occasional impatience and late-game desperation. But he also snagged a clean, close look from Jamie Trimboli with 12:16 to play that could have interrupted what would become a 7-0 Loyola run.
Instead, the Orange wouldn’t score again until Stephen Rehfuss collected his second goal with 21.6 seconds to go.
“In the second half, he did what we asked him to do, which is light the stove,” Loyola coach Charley Toomey said of Stover. “He did it. When we can make saves like that and run, we’re going to be a tough out.”
While the Orange head home having failed to win an NCAA tournament game in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1981-82, Loyola could very well get a shot at top-seeded Penn State next Sunday. The Nittany Lions face UMBC in their first round contest tomorrow.
Penn State’s offense is a remarkable show, with Grant Ament orchestrating a unit capable of generating goals in bunches. Saturday illustrated that, when things are right, the Greyhounds can do the same as they move into the quarterfinals for the third time in four years.
“We felt like if we played 80 seconds of offense on our end, we were going to get a good look somewhere in that 80 seconds, so we were not shying away from the game plan,” Spencer said. “I think the other thing was trusting my teammates. Sometimes when the going gets a little tight I feel like I need to make a play to kind of get the team rolling. Sometimes I do, and sometimes they’re going to slide quickly like they did today and I have to trust the guys to make plays.”
It wasn’t just Spencer, not with the midfielders, the faceoff play, the groundball boost and the goalie play all working in the second half. Balance is great, and so is a star.
And when a team can blend a strong day from its best player with sharp performances nearly everywhere else? Desko, who’s had that luxury at times over the years, knows all too well what can happen.
“It’s great to have one guy like that who can take control,” Desko said. “You look at our scoring all year long, we share things pretty well and we do it by committee. But in a game like this when you have that one guy, that one quarterback who can take control of the other guys, it’s big.”