Syracuse 13 - Hobart 12: Surviving The Statesmen

The Syracuse Orange lacrosse team beat the Hobart Statesmen 13-12 on Tuesday night, which sounds pretty good.

At halftime, the Orange led 10-4, which sounds even better, but then makes you realize that they were outscored eight to three in the second half by a 3-9 team. Hey, a win is a win is a win, but the way this one looks depends on how you look at it.

Syracuse got a career-high six goals from sophomore Derek Maltz, the most since Kenny Nims scored that many against Villanova in 2008, but his final one was a distant memory by the time the final horn sounded with Hobart pressing to tie.

Hobart made it 13-12 with eight seconds to play but the Orange held on in the closing moments thanks to Brian Megill shutting down Bobby Dattilo before he could make a game-tying shot.

The Orange went 10-of-28 on face-offs as that issue once again reared it's ugly head. By forcing the Statesmen to commit many a turnover (22 to 10), they were able to win back the advantage.

Tommy Palasek added four points (1G, 3A) for the Orange.

The Orange returned to wearing orange again, though they kept the black/blue helmets from last week. Seems the lacrosse Gods were sending us a warning...

At 7-5, the Orange are rising a two-game winning streak and now return home on Saturday, April 21 to host Georgetown at 3 p.m. With a showdown with Notre Dame and the Big East Tournament looming, the Orange need to keep fine-tuning their game if they want to keep playing well into May. Go root them on as they take the next step against the hated Hoyas.