Syracuse won the inaugural Cobb County Lacrosse Classic at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, topping St. John’s 14-8. Here is a look back at the game:
WHAT HAPPENED: Syracuse scored eight unanswered goals spanning from 3:16 left in the first quarter until 14:04 in the third quarter, turning a narrow 4-3 lead into a 12-3 blowout. Kevin Rice had its fingerprints all over that run, assisting or scoring on five of those goals en route to his second eight-point game of the season. The Orange also outshot the Red Storm 40-35 and allowed St. John’s to score on just one of six man-up opportunities.
WHAT IT MEANS: One week after the Orange was demolished in the faceoff category 24-7 by Virginia, SU saw some improvement. Syracuse ultimately lost the faceoff category 15-10, but had an 8-7 advantage after two quarters, which helped propel the Orange to an 11-3 lead at halftime. Syracuse’s defense, which had allowed 33 goals in its last two games, rebounded in limiting the Red Storm to eight goals. St. John’s turned the ball over 17 times while goalie Dominic Lamolinara notched 12 saves in three quarters of action before yielding to Bobby Wardwell in the fourth.
» More SU Lax: Faceoffs burn Syracuse in loss to Virginia
STAR GAZING: A lot of career-highs or season-highs on the day. As previously mentioned, Rice was the catalyst for an efficient Orange attack, notching a career-high 4 goals to go along with 4 assists. Senior Derek Maltz started at attack because of an injury to Randy Staats, and scored a season-high 4 goals. The aforementioned stingy defense was led by Brandon Mullins, who collected six ground balls and forced four turnovers, both career highs.
WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse heads down to Baltimore to play rival Johns Hopkins on Sunday, March 15 at 12 p.m. at Homewood Field. TV: ESPNU.
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