Syracuse entered Wednesday’s matchup with Army 1-2 for the first time since 2014. After going down 5-0 to top-ranked Maryland and 4-0 to second-ranked Virginia earlier this season, the Orange needed to get off to a good start desperately. However, SU found itself down big in the early going.
Midfielder Brendan Curry scored the first goal of the game, which gave the Orange a glimmer of hope that the first quarter woes would be behind them. However, behind three Brendan Nichtern goals, the Black Knights jumped out to a 5-1 early lead. After the game, head coach Gary Gait says that his squad needs to wake up on the opening faceoff.
Chef Curry struck first.
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) March 2, 2022
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“Unfortunately, you know, we’ve been struggling in the first and fourth quarters to get these players to have those types of opportunities and to have confidence to make plays,” Gait said. “We’re going to meet to discuss and talk and see if we can figure something out.”
The first quarter deficit of 5-1 got so ugly for the Orange that Gait subbed out goalie Bobby Gavin for Harrison Thompson. The sophomore made eight saves in his second appearance of the season, and he let up 12 goals. Gait was happy with what he saw.
“You know, that’s a great thing when you have a goalie crew,” Gait said. “Harrison [Thompson] is very capable and we saw that today, so we felt comfortable making the change.”
The Orange scored seven goals in the second quarter to take a 10-7 halftime lead. Attackman Owen Seebold and midfielder Brendan Curry each finished the half with a hat trick for SU. Face-off specialist Jakob Phaup also scored his first career goal in Orange.
The second half was similar to the first quarter. The Black Knights outscored the Orange 10-3 thanks to four goals from attackman Bobby Abshire. Three of those scores from Abshire came in the fourth frame in the span of just four minutes.
SU is now 1-3 on the young season with a matchup against Hobart on Sunday. Game time is set for 4 p.m., with GZA Countdown to Face-off at 3:30 p.m.