LISTEN: @CuseMLAX allowed nine straight goals in the final frame en route to a 20-12 loss to No. 3 @NDlacrosse. @JoePuccio_ and @francescosim16 had the call. pic.twitter.com/0BOGMApCUh
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) April 1, 2023
Syracuse men’s lacrosse (6-5, 0-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell to No. 3 Notre Dame (7-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) on Saturday afternoon 20-12.
To open things up, after allowing five-straight Fighting Irish goals, the Orange started to fire back. Two tallies from freshman Joey Spallina and red-shirt sophomore Owen Hiltz, brought SU back to within three.
The rally was short-lived, however. Notre Dame senior Jake Taylor registered his second and final goal of the first quarter. The Florida native would then complete the hat-trick in the opening three minutes of the second quarter.
From there, it was a back-and-forth affair. Less than a minute later, Fighting Irish junior Eric Dobson extended the Orange deficit to six. Syracuse responded by scoring two goals, courtesy of freshman Michael Leo and graduate Cole Kirst. About 30 seconds later, Notre Dame struck back to make the score 9-4 with about four minutes left in the half.
LISTEN: Notre Dame's Eric Dobson evaded the defense to get on the board. @francescosim16 had the call as the midfielder scored for the second time today.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) April 1, 2023
🎙️@waer883 , https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/onhMnpknUL
SU was not done with the second quarter just yet, though. The Orange found the back of the net three straight times all within a span of two minutes. Syracuse midfielder Jackson Birtwistle scored the first while the next two came from attacker Alex Simmons to conclude the first half. Notre Dame led 9-7 at the break.
“We were energetic because we had a great stop on defense right before the half and we’re just ready to go for the third quarter,” said graduate student Cole Kirst.
The Fighting Irish were also ready to start the third quarter. Opening the second half, Notre Dame came out hot. Midfielder Reilly Gray and attacker Chris Kavanaugh scored within the opening two minutes of the quarter to put the Fighting Irish up by four.
SU refused to give up.
“Coaches do an awesome job of instilling the next-play mentality in all of our heads so it’s just trying to get the next one no matter what happens really on the field," said Kirst.
That next-play mentality pushed Syracuse to stay competitive and not lose hope. The Orange then scored four unanswered to conclude the third quarter and tie the game at 11.
LISTEN: Attacker Owen Hiltz scored the first SU goal of the second half to eat into the Notre Dame lead.@JoePuccio_ had the call for the redshirt sophomore's man-up score.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) April 1, 2023
🎙️@waer883, https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/ARn3zsxWCe
The Syracuse rally continued into the fourth quarter. In the opening moments, Cole Kirst put Syracuse up by one with his second goal of the game and his fourth point.
The turning point for ND came after SU thought it scored again to go up by two. The Fighting Irish goaltender Liam Entenmann just got his stick on the ball before it crossed the goal line completely. Many of the Orange players were in disbelief.
Notre Dame seized its opportunity to turn the tide. The Fighting Irish had ten shots on net and scored nine-straight to close out the game.
Up next on the schedule, the Orange hit the road. Syracuse plays No. 17 Princeton (4-4, 2-1 Ivy League) on Saturday, April 8. The Tigers have won their last two games including a victory over Brown on Saturday 16-12. Game time is at noon this weekend. WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Team Countdown to Faceoff starting at 11:30 a.m.