Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Orange wake up in fourth quarter to beat Johns Hopkins; Two defenders selected in MLL Draft

After a slow end in last week’s loss to the Virginia Cavaliers, the Syracuse Orange came out slow in their rivalry game against the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. They were down 5-1 with 3:27 left in the opening quarter and it felt like another potential blowout from the Blue Jays.

But ‘Cuse woke up and outscored Hopkins 13-5 for the rest of the game and took their first lead with 10:46 left in the game in a 14-10 win.

After Jack Keogh gave the Blue Jays their fifth goal of the game, the Orange went on a 3-0 run from Brendan Curry, Bradley Voigt, and Stephen Rehfuss. Joey Epstein would end the run for Johns Hopkins, but Syracuse responded with Peter Dearth’s second of the afternoon and a Jamie Trimboli goal down the alley to tie the game at six.

The Blue Jays and Orange would alternate goals before Trimboli’s second started a 4-0 run in the fourth quarter for the Orange that would give them the lead for the remainder of the game. Syracuse outscored Johns Hopkins 6-1 in the final frame and had great defense thanks to Brett Kennedy and goalie Drake Porter. Kennedy finished with two caused turnovers while Porter made 13 saves.

Scoring and Stats

JOHNS HOPKINS

A Kyle Marr (2 Gs, 1 A, 3 GBs, 2 CTs)
A Joey Epstein (2 Gs, 4 GBs)
M Alex Concannon (2 Gs, 2 GBs)
M Forry Smith (1 G, 1 A)
A Cole Williams (1 G, 4 GBs)
SSDM Matt Hubler (1 G, 2 GBs)
M Jack Keogh (1 G)
M Brett Baskin (1 A)
SSDM Danny Jones (1 A)

LSM Jared Reinson (3 CTs, 5 GBs)
D Patrick Foley (1 CT, 1 GB)
D Jack Rapine (1 CT, 1 GB)
LSM Robert Kuhn (1 CT)

FOGO Matt Nareweski (7-of-21 FOs, 5 GBs)
FOGO Kyle Prouty (4-of-7 FOs, 1 GB)
G Ryan Darby (18 saves, 1 GB)

SYRACUSE

M Jacob Buttermore (3 Gs)
SSDM Peter Dearth (2 Gs, 1 A, 3 GBs)
M Jamie Trimboli (2 Gs, 1 A)
A Stephen Rehfuss (1 G, 1 A, 3 GBs)
M Brendan Curry (1 G, 1 A)
M David Lipka (1 G, 1 A)
LSM Brett Kennedy (1 G, 4 GBs, 2 CTs)
A/M Griffin Cook (1 G, 3 GBs)
A Nate Solomon (1 A, 3 GBs)
D Tyson Bomberry (1 A, 3 GBs)
LSM Austin Fusco (1 A, 1 GB)

LSM Jared Fernandez (1 CT, 4 GBs)
D Nick Mellen (1 CT, 2 GBs)
SSDM/LSM Andrew Helmer (1 CT))

FOGO Danny Varello (9-of-14 FOs, 3 GBs)
FOGO Jake Phaup (8-of-14 FOs, 4 GB)
G Drake Porter (13 saves)

Notes and Nuggets

• Early in the game, short stick defensive midfielder Grant Murphy went down with an injury and needed some help and hobbled toward the sideline. The online stream didn’t show what happened, but from speaking to someone that was at the game, it sounds like Murphy just rolled his right ankle. He was seen in a walking boot with crutches after the game during Porter’s postgame interview. Spencer Small got more time along with Brett Barlow.
• This is in the running for weirdest goal of the year. Rehfuss meant to pass the ball, but it hit Ryan Darby’s facemask.

• And if that’s a weird way to score, this is a pretty way to do the job.

• An interesting nugget was seeing a lot more Jared Fernandez than in the previous four games. I’m not totally sure if you’d call him the new top backup to Kennedy at the long pole position or a 2B to Austin Fusco. I really liked his play last year as a young, quick, and aggressive pole before having his season cut short.
• Syracuse’s transition game may be starting to come to form. Dearth’s two goals and an assist along with Kennedy’s tally meant that four of the team’s 14 goals were scored or assisted by a member of the defensive unit. They’ve done a pretty good job on defense thus far, but if they can sprinkle some offense, watch out.
• For the second straight week, the starting attack and midfield was balanced. The trio of Voigt, Rehfuss, and Nate Solomon produced equally with no slackers.
• And yet another big performance for Buttermore. He was quiet for the first half and most of the third quarter. But he woke up with a hat-trick in the second half and helped the Orange on their big fourth quarter run. He’s now second on the team in goals with nine and third in points at 10. The sophomore was also getting a few runs with the first midfield line.

Fusco, Bomberry Selected in MLL Draft

Major League Lacrosse held their annual collegiate draft last night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Weird place, but there’s been weirder places they’ve held the event.

Both Austin Fusco and Tyson Bomberry were selected in the fourth round (note the spelling of “Fourth” in the graphic). Fusco went to the Charlotte Hounds, while Bomberry went to the Boston Cannons.

With the arrival of the Premier Lacrosse League and their draft in a little over a month, there’s still a chance one or both players are scooped up by both leagues. If that’s the case, as well as any players that also get picked in the PLL Draft, they will have to wait until their season is over to declare for which league they will play in. I expect anyone to be picked in the PLL Draft to declare for that league.

What’s Next?

The Orange host former Big East rival Rutgers this Saturday at 1 PM on ACC Network Extra. The Scarlet Knights edged Princeton at home this Saturday, but host Lehigh Tuesday night.

Expect the top 20 polls to come out on Monday. Syracuse will probably be in the 12-16 range this week.