Syracuse outscored Albany 9-2 in the second half to keep its postseason alive, winning 11-9 on Sunday evening at the Carrier Dome to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
The eighth-seeded Orange will take on top-seeded Maryland on Saturday.
Syracuse had its worst offensive first half of the season, going into intermission trailing 6-2. The sixth goal was particularly deflating for the Orange, as goalie Evan Molloy had his outlet pass intercepted by sophomore attackman Connor Fields.
Fields outraced Molloy to the goal, firing past the diving goalie with 2:45 left to give the Great Danes its biggest lead of the game.
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The two goals were SU’s lowest halftime output of the season, eclipsing four-goal half against Notre Dame in a 17-7 loss on April 2.
But the Orange came roaring out of halftime, outscoring Albany 5-1. Ben Williams won 4 of 7 faceoffs in the critical third quarter after he started the game 0 for 5. That led to a balanced SU attack, with Nick Mariano, Tim Barber, Matt Lane, Jordan Evans and Derek DeJoe all scoring goals to tie the game at 7 heading into the fourth quarter.
Eight different Syracuse players scored, perhaps none more important than Sergio Salcido’s second goal, which gave SU the lead for good, a 9-8 advantage with 9:54 left. After Adam Osika’s goal pulled Albany to within one, Evan’s second goal put the game out of reach, giving the Orange a two-goal advantage with around four minutes remaining.
Barber, Evans and Salcido each notched a pair of goals for Syracuse, and Molloy finished with 12 saves. For the Great Danes, Fields, Osika and John Maloney all had two goals each.
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