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With Hall of Famer Dave Pietramala on the sidelines for his first game as Syracuse’s defensive coordinator, the Orange dominated against Holy Cross. They allowed just five goals — one fewer than last season’s game against the Crusaders, and almost 10 fewer than their 2021 average.

Jakob Phaup went 15-for-18 at the X, and SU’s defense wasn’t bombarded with a lot of Holy Cross possessions, holding the Crusaders to just 27 shots. Virginia transfer Bobby Gavin made his Syracuse debut in the cage, playing in the first half before being replaced by sophomore Harrison Thompson at halftime.

Despite Holy Cross being the easiest matchup on Syracuse’s 2022 schedule, Gavin, Thompson and the rest of Syracuse’s defense somewhat passed their opening test by only allowing five scores. Still, head coach Gary Gait said his staff is still deciding which goalie will be the starter next Sunday against No. 1 Maryland.

“They’re both outstanding; they give us depth,” Gait said. “We’re going to talk as a staff and decide what direction we’re going to forward against Maryland and take it from there.”

With SU’s season opener in the books, here’s a look at how Holy Cross was able to penetrate the Orange’s defense:

First mistake

In the first period, Gavin had three saves, with the final two coming on the same Holy Cross possession. But after the Orange’s 10th goal, Dean DiNanno got the Crusaders on the board for the first time, working in isolation on the right side 10 yards from goal.

With only Nick DiPietro on him, DiNanno spun backward after darting toward the cage, sending an underhand shot right above a kneeling Gavin to cut the Orange’s lead to nine. In the man-to-man defense, Brett Kennedy bit the cut immediately, extending his stick expecting to block any lane DiNanno would have to the cage.

Against some of the best teams in the country, like No. 1 Maryland and No. 2 Virginia — the next opponents on Syracuse’s schedule — Kennedy and the rest of the defense can’t commit to one direction. And if another defender slides to help, like Grant Murphy does on this play, they need to get in between the ball and the net instead of rushing straight at the opposing attack.

Gavin also bit low seeing DiNanno shoot underhand, freeing up the top half of the goal for DiNanno’s shot.

Man-down

Syracuse’s defense caused three turnovers in the second period, and Gait said he was pleased that the Orange continued to keep their foot on the gas despite the lack of offensive power from their opponent.

“They didn’t play down to the competition,” Gait said. “They focused on what they needed to do. They stepped up and executed the challenge that was in front of them.”

But Holy Cross got past Gavin twice again before the halftime break. The first came when Brett Barlow was penalized for pushing, leaving Syracuse shorthanded. In this zone look, the Orange defense stays as close to the cage as possible, allowing DiNanno to find a wide-open Jayce Lambert on the left edge of the field.

Kennedy’s rotation is too late, however, as he’s only able to get a stick’s length away from Lambert. Still, the shot itself was one of Holy Cross’ best on Saturday, perfectly hitting the top left corner after Gavin had completely blocked the right side of the net.

Island pressure

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, after Syracuse’s 25th goal, the Crusaders picked up their first score of the period on Thompson. At the start of the play, Pete Fiorini is left on an island defending T.J. Lynch.

Fiorini can’t keep up with Lynch’s speed, and despite Fiorini getting burned right away, the rest of SU’s defense sits and watches instead of sliding over. Nick Caccamo thinks about helping Fiorini but instead decides to stick to his man at the last second, opening up the middle for Lynch to take a low shot.

Thompson makes the right play, falling to the ground as the low ball hits the turf in front of him. But he’s unable to trap it, leading to an awkward bounce that ultimately found the back of the net.

Uno más

Four minutes later, following a mishap from Syracuse’s midfield, Holy Cross’ Matt Carbonell picked up a ground ball and immediately ran toward the cage. Cradling the ball, the Orange’s defense was left with only Cole Horan in position.

This created an easy two-on-one for Carbonell and Matt Major, who got the ball near the crease and easily scored. Horan almost gets his stick on Carbonell’s pass, but in an attempt to stop both attacks at the same time, he is left flat-footed ahead of the crease.

Thompson takes away the high shot again, leaving an easy opening for Major to bounce the ball into the cage. Staying upright worked a lot against the Crusaders, but down the road that won’t be enough.

Published on February 14, 2022 at 9:01 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu