#7Maryland Runs Past #1 Syracuse In the Carrier Dome
Story and Video by Max Berkowitz
Photo by Kayla Chadwick
Two
of the most storied programs in Division I lacrosse faced off for the
first time in the Atlantic Coast Conference today at the Carrier Dome. The last
time Syracuse and Maryland played at the Carrier Dome was in 1983 when the Terrapins
defeated the Orange 12-5 in the NCAA playoffs. This will also mark the first
and last time they face off as ACC rivals as Maryland will become part of
the Big Ten Conference next year.
Syracuse
(2-0, 0-0 ACC) came into this game
ranked No. 1 in the USILA Coaches Top 20 Poll, and Maryland (2-0, 0-0 ACC) were not that far behind at No. 7. The
Orange also came into this came looking to extend its three game home
winning streak.
That
streak ended today. The Orange lost its first game of the season
16-8.
First
Quarter: Orange gets a lead
Syracuse
started off well by being aggressive early and often. The Orange scored
two goals on its first three shots. Kevin Rice and Dylan Donahue both scored unassisted goals.
The Orange finished the first quarter with a 3-2 lead and was on pace for
another double-digit offensive game.
“To their credit, in
the first, they made some one on one plays," said Maryland head coach John
Tillman. "We didn’t get there."
Even
though Syracuse held a lead after the first quarter, there were some troubling
signs. Maryland dominated shots on net 15-8 and was also winning face-offs
4-2.
Second
Quarter: Terps take over
At
the start of the second quarter Maryland's Charlie Raffa was hit with a
rare unsportsmanlike conduct penalty off of a face-off and Syracuse had a man
up. Syracuse's Derek Maltz took advantage and scored at the
12:37 mark to give the Orange a 4-2 lead. After that, the Terps dominated the faceoff circle, went on an 8-0 run
and never looked back.
“On offense we were watching the defense play defense almost the
entire second quarter,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. "You had to
play catch-up because you were down so many goals and force things. Shoot
a little too quickly and they valued their possessions and played well."
Most of Maryland's goals came off faceoff penalties.
"A couple of the times we jumped and it put us in a man
down situation,” Desko said.
The Terps ended the first half with 28 shots on net. They also
won the faceoff category 9-4.
Maryland players pride themselves on their defense and said that
was the reason they ended up scoring ten goals in the second
quarter.
"(We) Threw multiple looks at them and kind of switched it
up," Maryland's goalie Niko Amato said. "Stalled their offense a
little bit. Just mixing up defenses kept them on their heels."
Third Quarter: more of the same
The Terps kept the momentum early in the second half.
Within the first three minutes of the third quarter Maryland scored. That
goal gave Maryland's Jay Carlson a hat trick and Maryland a 13-5 lead.
Maryland
went on another scoring surge with another three goals to take a 16-5
lead. Henry Schoonmaker finally stopped the bleeding with a little
less than two minutes to go to make it 16-6 heading into the fourth
quarter.
Part of Maryland's
continued success in the third quarter was due to its zone defense.
“We knew we were going to throw some zone in there to mix it
up," Tillman said. "We asked the middies to play good on ball-defense
and to help each other. Sliding them where they need to slide. Because they are
so dynamic.”
Maryland continued its dominance on the faceoff 5-1 in the third
quarter. The Terps also had 16 shots, compared to four for the
Orange.
Fourth Quarter: too little too late
The Orange played better in the final quarter but Maryland already had the game well in hand. SU didn't allow a single point, tied the faceoff category 1-1, had ten shots on goal and was not penalized.
Randy Staats scored a goal off a Donahue assist with 6:16 left
in the game to cut the deficit to 16-7.
And on the last play of the game Schoonmaker scored off another
Donahue assist to quietly register a hat trick.
End Result
Maryland had a whopping 55 shots on net. It also won the
ground ball game 36-17 which led to some easy goals. Syracuse wound up losing
the faceoff battle 19-8.
Next Opponent
Syracuse's next game is away against the University of Virginia
on Saturday, March 1.
Syracuse News Conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
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