In the 29 games played in Baltimore between Syracuse and Johns Hopkins, few have been more frustrating for the visitors than this most recent loss. The Orange (2-4, 0-1 ACC) were stumped by the Blue Jays (4-3, 0-0 Big-Ten) 10-7 in a defensive bout at Homewood Field.
Syracuse found itself down early after Joey Epstein scored for JHU. The Orange struck back with two of their own to take a narrow lead. A pattern started where SU would take a one goal lead, and then Hopkins would tie it. After the 3:47 mark in the second quarter, the ‘Cuse never held the lead again. The two sides entered their locker rooms for halftime tied at four.
Johns Hopkins put on horse blinders for the second half, outscoring Syracuse 6-3, and sealing the win on a two goal run. The Blue Jays earned their first win against their upstate New York rivals since 2018. Syracuse led in shots every quarter, but never had the lead after halftime.
Magnetism, as defined by Google is “A physical phenomenon produced by the motion of electric charge, resulting in attractive and repulsive forces between objects.” This property is only found in a select group of metallic elements. A lacrosse ball is made out of vulcanized latex rubber. Somehow, someway, Syracuse broke the laws of physics, and made rubber magnetic. The Orange hit the post eight times over the course of the game, and three times in the second quarter alone.
Head Coach Gary Gait attributed some of the Syracuse offensive woes to Hopkins’ style of defense.
“They played a very physical defense if nothing else,” Gait said. “There were no easy shots where you weren't worried about getting hit or a hard check. They played very physically and I think that definitely helped them.”
Not only did Syracuse need to worry about the goal frame, the Orange had to work around the stone wall inside the frame. Blue Jay netminder Josh Kirson turned aside 14 of the Orange’s 21 shots. This performance would have been the grad student’s game of the season if he hadn’t made 20 saves in Johns Hopkins’ loss to UNC in February.
Despite falling short on the scoresheet, Syracuse dominated the faceoff and ground ball category. While the Orange attack is faltering, the special teams and defense has shown they can go up with just about anyone. Ten goals is the fewest allowed by the Orange in a winning effort this season. You’d have to go all the way back to the first round of the 2018 National Tournament against Cornell to find the last time Syracuse allowed ten goals and lost.
“Our defense played pretty well,” Gait said. “I got to be honest that was probably the best game they played all year. We just kept giving them [Hopkins] opportunities.”
It was fitting that Sunday’s game only saw 17 goals. Longtime Johns Hopkins legend and current Syracuse defensive Dave Pietramala made his return to Homewood Field after four seasons as a player, 20 as a head coach, and three combined national titles with the Blue Jays.
Pietramala and Syracuse’s next chance to get back in the win column is this Saturday against Stony Brook. The Sea Wolves and Orange only met for the first time last season, with SU taking the game. Opening face off from Long Island is set for 3:00. WAER’s coverage of the game starts with GZA Countdown to Faceoff at 2:30.