The Orange survived herculean efforts from Yale’s Ben Reeves and Conor Mackie. Reeves led Yale with four goals and added two assists, including two unassisted goals midway through the fourth quarter to tie the game at 10.
Mackie dominated at the X, winning 18 of 22 faceoffs, helping Yale to a 42-29 advantage in shots. Ben Williams struggled through a 1-12 performance, causing Syracuse head coach John Desko to switch in Dan Varello. He was only marginally better, going 3-10 at the X.
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But Syracuse, which has been in close games all season, was nonplussed. Down 7-4 with 13:39 left in the third quarter, the Orange would score six of the next seven goals to take a 10-8 lead with 8:19 left to go. SU flexed its balanced attack, with six different players scoring.
Jordan Evans and Nick Mariano led Syracuse with three points each.
Syracuse will play Towson on Sunday at noon in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Delaware, which will be aired on ESPN2. Towson defeated Penn State, 12-8, in the opening round.
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