Joey Spallina breaks all-time points record, No. 5 Syracuse thumps Colgate 14-7

With the program’s all-time points record within reach, attackman Joey Spallina conquered the mark, as he helped No. 5 Syracuse (11-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) command Colgate (5-7, 4-3 Patriot League) 14-7 Saturday. Spallina accrued a game-high seven points while fellow attackmen Michael Leo and Finn Thomson scored four goals apiece.

SU commanded the Raiders from its first possession, with midfielder Wyatt Hottle weaving a pass to Leo to open the scoring. Then, Spallina doubled the advantage, tying all-time great Mikey Powell’s 307 points mark. Short-stick defensive midfielder Jayden Kittelberger located Leo for a sensational behind-the-back shot to earn a 3-0 advantage moments later.

Just over six minutes into play, Colgate gave Syracuse a small scare with freshman Tristan Schaefer’s first-career goal and midfielder Emmet Crotty’s tally.

Then came history.

With three minutes remaining in the first, Spallina took a page out of Leo’s book with a mind-boggling behind-the-back feed from the left flank to, coincidentally, Leo, securing the record for himself.

Three-hundred eight points. Spallina looks down at SU history from above the clouds, but that’s the last thing he’s thinking about.

“The only thing I really care about is winning a national championship with this group,” he said. “To be honest with you, I was more excited for my brother, Jake (Spallina), to score off a pass from me.”

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Spallina didn’t take his foot off the pedal, notching a brace in the waning moments of the quarter to secure a 5-2 advantage. That was the same mark FOGO John Mullen earned in the frame on faceoffs.

It wasn’t smooth sailing in the second stanza, but the Orange got off on the right foot with Thomson pummeling midfielder Luke Rhoa a bullet to finish.

Hiccups came, as Raiders midfielder Hunter Drouin extended his goal streak to nine games, Colgate sustained its momentum deep into the quarter, where, at the 5:16 mark, midfielder Carter Cadin scored to make it 6-4.

SU looked for any form of momentum, so it slotted faceoff specialist Drew Angelo in Mullen’s on the ensuing tie-up. Winning possession, the Orange pingponged the ball until Leo ripped twine for his fourth goal of the half.

“We just changed our ride a little bit,” Gait said. “We went with one formation, and we were making a lot of mistakes, and we weren’t comfortable with it.”

The defense remained stagnant, as Saturday marked the second straight game Syracuse held its opponent to single digits. Figueiras led that charge with three ground balls and three caused turnovers, and during the second, had a goal called back.

On an early third-quarter man-up opportunity, Colgate delivered, courtesy of sophomore Casey Quinson on a feed from Crotty.

About four and a half minutes into the third, Thomson responded. It was the reverse of the second-quarter connection, with Thomson on the receiving end of Rhoa’s pass, igniting an 8-5 Orange lead.

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SU optimized sophomore Freddy Fowler’s slashing foul, with attackman Greg Elijah-Brown scoring just under six minutes into third-quarter action.

Syracuse had a brotherly connection with Spallina feeding Jake to notch a 10-5 lead. While the Raiders stormed back, courtesy of Quinson and Fowler, it was too late to avoid a three-goal deficit before the fourth quarter.

That’s when SU’s defense came alive. Goalie Jimmy McCool remained poised with 10 saves on 17 shots on goal Saturday. Meanwhile, the offense delivered daggers, with three from Thomson and one by midfielder Payton Anderson, annihilating Raiders netminder Andrew Lehrman.

“The guys stuck together, played consistent throughout the game, got lots of opportunities, made plays when we needed, stepped up, got the job done,” Orange head coach Gary Gait said.

Courtesy of No. 15 Duke’s defeat to top-ranked Notre Dame, SU sealed a spot in the ACC Tournament. But the Fighting Irish stand before it next Saturday. Gametime is set for noon. WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 11:30 a.m.