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In what was possibly Syracuse’s best scoring opportunity of the season, Owen Seebold received the ball all alone at the top of the crease.

Seebold wound up for an overhand shot for the chance to stuff in Syracuse’s sixth goal of the game late in the second quarter. Instead, the shot went right at goalie Liam Entenmann, who made the save with his stick crossed in front of his body.

The goal would’ve pulled Syracuse within three scores heading into halftime, but instead, the Orange trailed by five and never could get within three goals of Notre Dame.

Seebold’s missed opportunity was reminiscent of Syracuse’s (4-10, 1-5 Atlantic Coast) missed chances and victories throughout its first 10-loss season in the program’s 106-year history. The Orange fell 18-11 to No. 6 Notre Dame (7-4, 5-1) in its season finale, capping off their longest losing streak (six games) since 1975.

“They were outstanding, all facets of the game, capitalized on our mistakes and put the ball in the back of the net,” head coach Gary Gait said of the Fighting Irish. “Unfortunately, the record is what it is, and it kind of defines every year. But I think it doesn’t show the effort and the work that these players put in to try and have success.”

Syracuse’s 28.6% win percentage is its fifth-worst ever, ranking just above its 27.3% seasons in 1930 and 1975. The Orange’s losing streak began on April 2 in South Bend, Indiana, as Notre Dame handed SU a 22-6 defeat for its worst loss since 1977.

On Sunday, Syracuse was able to control possession for most of the game’s first seven minutes, but the score remained tied at one apiece. Despite the Orange outshooting the Fighting Irish 12-6 — with six of the 12 going on net — Entenmann made five saves to avoid the early deficit.

Just before Notre Dame regained its 2-1 lead, Syracuse went on the man-up and had three scoring chances, but just one of them resulted in a shot on goal. Tucker Dordevic’s attempt went right at Entenmann, and on the Fighting Irish’s clear attempt, Marco Napolitano bobbled his ground ball pickup, allowing Seebold to take over. Seebold lobbed a pass to the center of the zone for Brendan Curry, whose shot went wide on a semi-open net, as Entenmann left his cage to challenge the loose ball.

After Matt Magnan took another shot that went wide, the man-up expired and Notre Dame managed a successful clear. Chris Kavanagh took the ball into the Orange’s zone and spotted an unmarked David Lipka next to the right post, and Lipka cut inside and stuffed in a close-range shot past Harrison Thompson.

Owen Seebold’s attempt late in the second quarter was symbolic of Syracuse’s missed offensive chances throughout it season. Trent Kaplan | Staff Photographer

It was an opening stretch, marred by missed chances, that mirrored Syracuse’s 10-7 loss at Johns Hopkins. The Orange outshot the Blue Jays 54-39, but managed just 21 shots on goal.

Similarly, the Orange entered halftime with two more shots on goal than the Fighting Irish. But the issue was that it never led early on. Syracuse took ranked opponents like then-No. 6 Cornell down to the wire because of the early leads it generated.

Notre Dame, though, couldn’t establish a three-goal lead until the final minute of the opening period, when its attack, led by Pat and Chris Kavanagh, relied on finding runners cutting between Syracuse’s defense to create quality close-range opportunities. It’s what led to the Fighting Irish’s eight-minute, 6-1 run through the first and second quarters.

Then, as Notre Dame took its biggest lead of the first half at 8-2, Pat found Chris cutting between three Orange defensemen, and Chris got a step on Brett Kennedy to fire a low shot past Thompson as he fell down on his follow-through.

Unlike the teams’ last meeting, where half of ND’s goals were scored by either Pat or Jake Taylor, 11 different Fighting Irish players found the back of the net on Sunday. Taylor, who scored a career-high eight times in April, was held to just a goal and two shots.

Syracuse finished the season with 10 losses for the first time in program history. Trent Kaplan | Staff Photographer

Syracuse has struggled to stop it’s opponent’s top point producer all season. Those players were either held silent or an army of secondary scoring made the difference instead.

“Going forward, working on that consistency — there’s a lot of young guys that had the opportunity to play, and I think all of that experience this year is just going to help them so much going into next year,” Kennedy said. “Obviously, a lot of things to work on and they’ll address that in the offseason.”

Syracuse was successful at clearing the ball Sunday (17-for-19), led by its goalie, Thompson. On one play after a quick save, Thompson sent the ball to midfield to Saam Olexo, who got the ball to Seebold. Seebold then found Jackson Birtwistle, who rifled in his second goal of the game midway through the third quarter.

Birtwistle, a freshman who has started Syracuse’s last two games, is a part of a foundation that Syracuse’s graduating class, and Gait, point to as the program’s future. But after an underwhelming first season of the Gait era, the first-year head coach acknowledged postgame that a series of evaluations need to be done.

“There’s room for improvement,” Gait said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me as a head coach to evaluate, really look at it, and make some adjustments. I think we’ll see a little bit different on how we work next year as a staff.”

Published on May 1, 2022 at 2:41 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu