Syracuse responded quickly against Army after a disappointing season opener against Albany last week.
Syracuse started strong scoring 5 of their 6 goals in the first half. Coach Desko was satisfied with their energy and hustle throughout the game.
“After last week we were very disappointed and wanted to come out and play,” he said. “It showed in the ground balls.”
After learning from last week’s game against Albany the Orange allowed only thirteen shots on goal and capitalized on man up opportunities.With four goals surfacing in the second quarter the players seemed to be less nervous as opposed to last week, exhibiting better communication and movement. The offense forced 24 shots on goal but it was Syracuse’s tantalizing defense that helped secure the win.
“Good defense is exactly what they wanted to have happen, Army Coach Joe Alberici said. “It was a game of possessions and Syracuse dominated the possession time in the second half-that was the difference.”
The Orange managed to hold Army to two goals after the first half as the Black Knights struggled to effectively break down the defense.
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“Where we faltered we weren’t patient enough,” Alberici said. “Against a team like Syracuse you won’t get the first opportunity that often, you’ve just got to work for one and work for one and we settled at times.”
Although Army’s goalkeeper Sam Somers stopped some impressive shots, he could not do it all against the Syracuse offense as they patiently worked their way into the crease.
With the majority of possession time in the hands of the Orange, Army’s senior attack Garret Thul became anxious and could not get anything done. Thanks to Megill’s immense pressure on defense he successfully helped break Thul’s 42-game scoring streak. This stern Orange defense also helped goalkeeper Bobby Wardwell bounce back and regain confidence after letting in sixteen goals last weekend.
The Orange ended the game 6-2 with each goal coming from a different player.
The defensive game and patience were key to Sunday nights win. So for next weekend? Desko assures, “Our defense will respond again if we give them the info they need.”
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