By Zach Francis
Syracuse, NY - For a team that has struggled to stop opponents recently, and was desperately trying to gain some momentum heading into next week's ACC tournament, the Syracuse men's lacrosse team needed a strong performance. That's what it gave Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome.as Syracuse (8-4) defeated Binghamton (4-8) 13-5.
After not allowing a goal for the final 12:23 last Saturday against North Carolina, the Orange held the Bearcats without a goal for the first 36:35. Syracuse led 9-0 at the half.
The scoreless half was the first defensively for Syracuse since April 14, 2015 against Hobart. Syracuse won that game 18-5.
"We tried to jump on them early, and a little later we started to show a little fatigue, but all in all it was a good win for us," head coach John Desko said. "There's been a real focus in the last few weeks on our team defense. I thought we did really well, and pretty well against Cornell. Even better against UNC. We were a little slow at times today, but I thought we did pretty well."
This was the fourth game in 14 days for the Orange.
Offensive Onslaught Early
After winning the opening faceoff, Syracuse took just 66 seconds to put the ball in the back of the net, courtesy of Nick Mariano. Just another minute and a half later, Tim Barber scored his 19th goal of the season for an early 2-0 lead.
A strong defensive effort by both teams kept the game close for the remainder of the quarter. Mariano scored his second goal of the quarter with 14 seconds to go. After the Orange got the clear, Mariano got the ball just inside midfield and raced the rest of the way to the net. Cutting just before the crease, he flipped the ball around his back and right past Binghamton goalkeeper Tanner Cosens.
Mariano finished with a game high four goals. He now leads the team with 29 goals on the year.
"My teammates just keep setting up good shots for me," Mariano said. "I'm just trying to do what I can with what I'm given."
The Orange scored five more goals in the second quarter including two straight by Dylan Donahue in a minute and forty seconds. That extended the local product's scoring streak to 51 games, the longest streak in the country. Donahue leads the Orange with 27 assists on the year to go along with his 21 goals.
"Offense is always a work in progress," Donahue said. "I'm just trying to do whatever they need me to do. We're really just now starting to figure out who we are, and we're just playing well together."
Goal Play Key
Two dominant performances in goal kept this game much closer than it appeared. Evan Molloy recorded four saves and only one goal in 38 minutes. A strong performance by the defensive front kept the Bearcats out of the goal for the first 37 minutes.
"Sliding recovery has been a key for us the past couple of weeks," defenseman Brandon Mullins said. "I thought we had a good showing against UNC and our momentum carried over into this game. Hopefully that carries over to the ACC tournament."
Struggling goalkeeper Warren Hill saw 15 minutes of action in the second half, and he made some strides to getting his confidence back after being rattled for much of the season, especially during the Orange's three game losing streak.
He bounced back in this one with three saves including a quick reaction save of a shot from just outside the crease.
The performance of the night came from Cosens for Binghamton. In 56 minutes, he came away with a season high 14 saves. His career high is 16 against Vermont last season. In facing 42 shots, he allowed all 13 goals, but stopped or affected many more than that.
"I thought he saw too many shots, but I thought he played well," Binghamton coach Scott Nelson said. "He had nine saves in the first half, which is a pretty good day. Thank God he played well. Otherwise it could have been really ugly."
Next Up
Syracuse will have the next nine days off before playing in the ACC tournament. The Orange men have the chance at the second or the fourth seed depending on the result of UNC vs Notre Dame. No matter the seed, the Orange will play the Tar Heels in the first round.
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