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Joey Spallina carries an immense weight on his shoulders every single outing. The former No. 1 overall recruit is only a sophomore, yet has already become Syracuse’s punching bag after losses and its golden boy following wins.

He said he’s grateful for those supporting him through the ups and downs like Christian Mulé — who defended him from criticism post-SU’s loss to Army, where Spallina scored zero goals. But the response remains the same for Spallina regardless of the outcome.

“Whether I had a good game or a bad game today, I’m going to wake up tomorrow and get back to work,” Spallina said. “I don’t think one game is going to define you.”

For a moment, he silenced the judgment, albeit in a tune-up game. Spallina racked up a career-high seven goals to lead No. 7 Syracuse (5-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 19-13 victory over High Point (4-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10 Conference). One of the worst performances of his career was followed up by a resounding effort, as Spallina’s dominance helped carry SU past a rough stretch in the middle of the contest to salvage a victory.

Between this game and his previous one, it was a night-and-day difference for Spallina. He was roughed up by stout Army defense, which baited him into off-target behind-the-back shots and stayed every step with him on his right side. High Point doesn’t have the personnel to apply the same pressure and focus toward Spallina, and the Panthers suffered the consequences of facing him in space.

Spallina was unleashed early on, scoring two goals in succession on finishes from the left crease to give Syracuse a 3-0 advantage. Just under 10 minutes into the first, Spallina already completed a hat trick with a finish from the wing that was spurred by an Owen Hiltz caused turnover.

High Point flailed on its select number of attacking trips, thwarted by Billy Dwan and Riley Figueiras around the cage and pushed outward by a physical Syracuse midfield. Lengthy possessions and off-balance shots were elicited by the Panthers in response. The Orange tacked on a few more insurance goals by Michael Leo, Jackson Birtwistle and Mulé — paving the way for seven unanswered goals to commence the contest.

Jack VanOverbeke tallied a late first-quarter goal to avoid a scoreless opening 15 minutes for High Point, as the Orange still led 7-1. Once the second began, it was back to Spallina and the attack running circles around HPU.

Another long Panthers attacking trip was ended by Dwan snuffing out a ground ball. He fired a long pass to set up Syracuse’s attack, which materialized some open space for Spallina. The sophomore got his point total to five on the evening, capitalizing on a crafty finish right in front of HPU goalie Zack Overend to make it 8-1 in favor of the Orange — the fourth goal of his career evening.

But even against an unranked foe, the Orange again proved to be susceptible to damning stretches of offensive inactivity. They went 10 minutes without a single shot during the second half of their loss to Army, and a similar lull resurfaced versus HPU.

For the final 13:33 of the second quarter, Syracuse failed to muster a goal. An 8-1 lead, which it formed through a four-goal first half by Spallina, evaporated into a much-slimmer 8-5 halftime advantage. The Orange won their one-on-one battles in the first but lacked ball movement and open space in the second, and the Panthers stormed back.

“I think we just kind of thought it was just going to keep rolling like (it was in the first half) and (High Point) were going to pack it in,” said SU head coach Gary Gait.

VanOverbeke scored to make it a three-goal game, then the Panthers won each of the next two faceoffs and finished with goals from VanOverbeke and Brayden Mayea on each attacking trip. HPU’s attacking duo was suddenly matching Spallina’s gaudy first-half production, cutting its deficit to 9-8.

Though, less than six minutes later, the Orange promptly returned to their prior form once Hiltz emerged as a running mate to Spallina. Hiltz fired off three straight goals after scoring only three in his last three games. SU’s ball movement proved to be a lot crisper with Hiltz in the mix.

“It was nice when you challenge the guys to refocus and dial it back up again, and they did,” Gait said.

At the 4:29 mark of the third, Spallina put the finishing touches on stalling High Point’s comeback. He cut out from X and spun to his left to dodge Brenfleck for an open chance in front of the net. He slashed a left-handed finish past HPU goalie Zack Overend for his fifth goal of the game. After Kohn won the ensuing faceoff, Jake Stevens found Spallina at the crease for the attack’s career-high sixth goal, and 20th of the season, to put SU up 14-8 — a lead that ballooned to 16-8 minutes later.

A last-ditch endeavor by the Panthers to come from behind generated three consecutive goals, though Spallina whipped in his seventh to immediately set a new career-high and bring the home team to an 18-11 lead.

The pressure on Spallina can only grow from here. Johns Hopkins, Duke, Notre Dame, Virginia and other upper-echelon opponents still linger on Syracuse’s schedule. Gait said he feels like his squad has shown they’re “at least equal” to top five teams, and must use their experiences against Maryland and Army to figure out how to unlock Spallina down the stretch.

“We’re right there,” Gait said. “It’s just a matter of making one less mistake, making one more big play.”

Published on March 2, 2024 at 7:50 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews