LISTEN: @CuseMLAX destroyed @BonniesMLAX 22-6 to improve to 5-4. The 'Cuse's win was its fifth against an unranked opponent this season. @francescosim16 and @RealLiamGriffin had the call. pic.twitter.com/bJFzTmxgxO
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) March 22, 2023
Syracuse men’s lacrosse (5-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) picked up its second straight win against St. Bonaventure (1-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) on Tuesday night in the first-ever matchup between the two programs.
Right from the jump, SU was ready. Alex Simmons opened the scoring just 37 seconds in with a righty turnaround shot. The grad student finished the day tied for the most goals on the team with Owen Hiltz.
LISTEN: SU's Owen Hiltz found the back of the net to extend the Orange lead. @RealLiamGriffin was on the mic for the attackman's 16th goal of the season.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) March 21, 2023
🎙️ @waer883, https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/4MIqbqUTJ6
Patrick Carpenter evened the scoring for the Bonnies a few minutes before the Orange unleashed an avalanche. Syracuse went on an 18-2 run that lasted until the fourth quarter, leading to a 22-6 victory in the end.
Towards the end of that 18-2 run, SU Head Coach Gary Gait decided to get some new faces involved in the action, which led to the Orange having 14 different goal scorers, including five players getting their first goals of the season.
“We got to go deep in the lineup,” Coach Gait said after the game. “What I did enjoy was watching a lot of our guys that we haven’t seen a lot of this year actually execute.”
One player that stood out from the backups was John Cohen. The sophomore attack nabbed a goal and three assists in the fourth quarter alone. Gait specifically mentioned Cohen when talking about the reserves as well.
“He hasn’t played a whole lot this year and he made some plays… In his first three of four shifts, his plus-minus was all plus.”
Will Mark continued his good run of form with eight saves and three goals allowed. Mark made way at the start of the fourth quarter for Kyle Rolley and Patrick Duffy.
The six goals that Syracuse’s defense let in is tied for their second-lowest total of goals allowed this season.
In the third quarter, the Orange scored on nine of their first 10 shots to pull away. One of those goals was an excellent behind-the-back finish from Luke Rhoa. The freshman logged his season-high in goals with two.
This loss is on brand for Bonnies who were 1-6 overall and 0-4 on the road coming into the midweek battle.
Looking ahead, SU has another out-of-conference matchup with Hobart (4-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10 Conference). This matchup has fared well for Syracuse. The Orange have won 37 of their 39 matchups against the Statesman dating back to 1983.
Syracuse stays in the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday afternoon for that matchup. The Orange will be looking for their third straight win. WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Team Countdown to Faceoff at 12:30 p.m.