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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One win in 14 tries against top-10 opponents isn’t going to cut it for Gary Gait. He is well aware of it, though he continues to remind the masses that his program is close to accomplishing the feat with consistency once again. And a Saturday night bout versus No. 2 Johns Hopkins gave Gait’s team another chance to rewrite its past wrongs.

This time, Gait’s Orange finally delivered. Syracuse weathered a slow second quarter and unloaded for eight goals in the third. Its lead grew to four in the fourth quarter, yet it shrunk to just one after a Matt Collison goal with 2:31 remaining. But, Mason Kohn responded by winning the ensuing faceoff and the Orange wasted most of the clock away on their next possession. With just 15 seconds left, JHU failed on a clear, clinching a Syracuse win.

Since being hired as SU’s head coach in 2022, Gait has now earned his second-ever top-10 win. A much-needed one at that.

Here are some observations from No. 9 Syracuse’s (6-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 14-13 win over No. 2 Johns Hopkins (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten):

Spallina’s prove-it-game

Joey Spallina is always the center of attention through every outcome. Teammates like Christian Mulé have publicly supported the sophomore attack, emphasizing that growing pains as a young star are natural. Even so, JHU gave Spallina an opportunity to re-script the national narrative.

Early on, he delivered. Spallina emerged from X and curled off a screen in front of the left crease. He sidestepped to create more space and unleashed a right-handed attempt that found the back of the net for his first goal of the game to put SU up 2-1.

Though, Spallina went quiet for the rest of the half. Syracuse’s offense was forced into individualized sets as the Blue Jays’ long pole defenders of Beaudan Szuluk, Scott V. Smith and Quintan Kilrain forced SU’s attacks outside and Spallina struggled from X. He didn’t net another point in the first half, and his teammates didn’t either, going the final 17:50 of the half without a goal.

But in the third quarter, it was the Spallina show. His distribution carried Syracuse’s revamped attack, one that went from zero second-quarter goals to eight in the third. Spallina tallied four assists in the quarter — including one on an emphatic behind-the-back goal by Michael Leo to give Syracuse an 11-8 lead after 45 minutes. Earlier, Spallina finished a goal off a pump-fake in front of the net to help kick-start a five-point period.

Spallina delivered a six-point performance against the No. 2 team in the nation. It was a prove-it-game for the sophomore after he was held scoreless versus Army in SU’s previous top-five matchup.

A fortified faceoff unit

Kohn has proven to be a perfect addition for Syracuse this season. The Tufts transfer has transitioned seamlessly to the Division I game ranking No. 9 in the country in faceoff winning percentage (63.3%). And though the Orange took on the second-ranked team in the nation, they faced Logan Callahan at the faceoff X, a player who ranked just 29th in D-I (56.2%) heading into the night.

The combination of Kohn and freshman John Mullen was lethal early. SU won each of the first seven faceoffs over JHU. On the third of which, Mullen clamped Callahan and raced toward the cage, kick-starting Syracuse’s attack. The possession eventually led to Spallina’s first goal of the night to give the Orange a 2-1 lead. Kohn won the next faceoff over Johns Hopkins’ backup Tyler Dunn, leading to an Owen Hiltz goal to make it 3-1 SU.

Yet, Syracuse struggled to take advantage of the faceoff unit’s dominance. It only led 3-2 by the time it lost its first faceoff. And on that instance, JHU’s Hunter Chauvette instantly netted a left-handed shot to tie the contest at 3-3. Then, Mullen lost another one to Callahan and Garrett Degnon tacked on a goal to make it 4-3.

Despite losing the final two faceoffs of the first half, SU got back where it left off to start the second half. The Orange won each of the first three faceoffs, all resulting in possessions that ended in a goal. Kohn won the first two while Mullen took the third to spark what had been a quiet Syracuse offense.

SU closed the contest 22-for-31 on faceoffs in the positional group’s best outing versus a ranked opponent in 2024.

Good Vibrations

Will Mark often flies under the radar on a program built by its history of attacks. Against Johns Hopkins, though, Syracuse’s goalie was strong in the win. As SU struggled to capitalize off consistent faceoff victories, Mark was the one who held the back end together through JHU retaliations, totaling eight saves on 12 shots on goal by halftime.

In the tail end of the first, Collison cut in front of the net. He flicked a quick shot at Mark, but he snared the save on a rapid reaction. Mark seemed to read opponents’ moves well throughout the night, often keeping his eyes ahead of the play.

Then in the second, Mark made a few key stops on a man-down possession midway into the quarter to kill off the Johns Hopkins’ advantage. And with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the quarter, Mark spurred another kill as he intercepted a pass from X by Degnon.

Despite giving up a few goals on one-on-one opportunities in the third quarter, Mark kept Syracuse alive while its offense struggled in the first half. He finished with 11 saves after he faced 24 shots on net.

4th-quarter finish

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Orange had the game in their hands. They were up 11-8 and just experienced one of their best offensive quarters of the season against the highest-ranked opponent that they’ve faced. They just had to finish.

Sam English got things going. Off a Kohn faceoff win, English dodged down the left side and bounced in a goal to give the Orange a four-goal lead. But then, defensive issues reared their ugly head again. SU lost each of the next two faceoffs and allowed goals on both possessions. A once four-goal lead was shortened to two.

Until Jake Stevens stepped up. The Princeton transfer unleashed two consecutive goals to provide SU with necessary insurance. On the first, he shot out from the wing off a Kohn faceoff win and took a pass downhill, where he bounced a shot by JHU’s Chayse Ierlan. Then, Stevens ripped a shot in the middle of the field that found twine again to register a hat trick.

The next two faceoffs were won by the Blue Jays, though. Degnon and Collison finished on each possession to make the score 14-13 with just over two minutes remaining. Then, Kohn beat Callahan for a crucial faceoff victory and after a methodical attacking trip, the Orange couldn’t capitalize.

Yet, the game ended with Johns Hopkins coughing the ball up at midfield on a clear attempt and the Orange simply could let the final few seconds run out for the top-three victory.

Published on March 9, 2024 at 9:44 pm

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