After an exciting come-from-behind win over fifth-ranked Duke last Sunday, number eight Syracuse (5-3) looked to take that momentum into a matchup against number 12 Notre Dame (5-3) on the road. Despite seven unanswered goals in the second half, it was not enough to overcome an 11-3 halftime deficit, and the Orange fell 13-10.
The first half was simply a dominant effort from Notre Dame in every facet. The fighting Irish had eight turnovers to Syracuse’s 14 and attempted 17 shots on goal, and Syracuse was down 11-3 at the half.
Despite the one sided first half, the comeback style that the Orange have played with all season was in full force, as SU scored seven unanswered goals to cut the deficit from 11-3 to 11-9. Nate Solomon scored both of his goals during that run, while Jamie Tromboli scored on two and assisted on another.
Notre Dame got back on the scoreboard with 8:12 left to play thanks to their leading scorer. Bryan Costabile scored his 20th goal of the season on a man up opportunity, and notched number 21, his fifth goal of the game, two minutes later to give his team a four point cushion. That ended up being the difference that slammed the door shut on SU’s comeback attempt.
Bradley Voigt and Jamie Tromboli each scored three goals for Syracuse, but needed 21 shots to do so. David Lipka and Stephen Rehfuss also scored for SU.
Backup goalie Luke Strang played the entire second half in relief of Drake Porter, as John Desko pulled his starter after 11 first half scores for Notre Dame. Strang stopped five shots and allowed just two second half scores in his first significant action of the season.
Syracuse has a quick turnaround with a matchup against Hobart at 7:00 Tuesday night. The Kraus-Simmons trophy is on the line, and WAER gets you started at 6:30 with GZA's Countdown to Faceoff.