Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Orange use another big fourth quarter run to beat Rutgers

For the second straight game, the Syracuse Orange started off slow against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Rutgers scored the game’s first four goals and controlled most of the first half.

But the Orange found ways to counter and fight their way back into the game. And yet again, Syracuse didn’t take their first lead of the day until the 6:48 mark of the fourth quarter en route to an 18-14 win over Rutgers.

After RU’s initial 4-0 run, the Orange saw goals from Jamie Trimboli, Brendan Curry, and Nate Solomon to cut the Scarlet Knight lead to a goal. It continued to be a back and forth game until Rutgers quietly increased their lead back to four thanks to a 4-1 run.

‘Cuse went on a 4-0 run of their own from late in the second quarter to the midway point of the third. But the Scarlet Knights went on another 4-1 run to take a three-goal lead with 11:55 to go. But that’s when the Orange erupted on offense, scoring eight of the game’s final nine goals for the four-goal victory.

Trimboli and Solomon each had four goals and an assist. Bradley Voigt (3 Gs, 1 A) and Stephen Rehfuss (1 G, 3 As) both racked up four points. Brett Kennedy finished with four caused turnovers plus an assist, while Drake Porter made 11 saves.

Scoring and Stats

RUTGERS

A Adam Charalambides (6 Gs, 2 As, 3 GBs)
A Kieran Mullins (1 G, 6 As, 3 GBs)
M Casey Rose (2 Gs, 3 GBs, 1 CT)
M David Sprock (2 Gs)
A Ryan Gallagher (1 G, 1 A, 2 GBs)
SSDM Robert Marron (1 G, 4 GBs)
M Brennan Kamish (1 G)
SSDM Zackary Franckowiak (1 A, 3 GBs)
M Tommy Coyne (1 A, 1 GB)

LSM Garrett Michaeli (2 CTs, 5 GBs)
LSM Ethan Rall (1 CT, 4 GBs)
D Garrett Bullett (1 CT, 1 GB)
D Jack Thompson (1 CT, 1 GB)

FOGO Sam Oltmans (6-of-18 FOs, 5 GBs)
FOGO Alex Schoen (2-of-12 FOs)
D Kyle Pless (1-of-3 FOs, 2 GBs)
G Max Edelmann (19 saves, 1 GB)

SYRACUSE

A Nate Solomon (4 Gs, 1 A, 2 GBs, 2 CTs)
M Jamie Trimboli (4 Gs, 1 A, 2 GBs)
A Bradley Voigt (3 Gs, 1 A, 2 GBs)
A Stephen Rehfuss (1 G, 3 As, 4 GBs)
M Brendan Curry (2 Gs, 1 A, 2 GBs, 1 CT)
M David Lipka (2 Gs, 1 A)
A/M Griffin Cook (2 Gs, 1 A)
LSM Brett Kennedy (1 A, 4 CTs, 4 GBs)

D Nick Mellen (2 CTs, 4 GBs)
SSDM Peter Dearth (5 GBs)

FOGO Jake Phaup (15-of-20 FOs, 4 GBs)
FOGO Danny Varello (12-of-16 FOs, 4 GB)
G Drake Porter (11 saves, 1 GB)

Notes and Nuggets

• On the opening faceoff, Cuse went with the double-pole wings of Kennedy and Jared Fernandez. I noted last week how I saw an increase of Fernandez on the field. But with that, Peter Dearth (or whoever the SSDM is) would be on the defensive side of the field on draws. There were also times were Kennedy, Fernandez, or both would stay on the field with the offense for a short period of time.
• Kennedy assisted on Voigt’s goal to start the second half. Ryan Powell said the LSM reminded him of Joel White. I think he’s one of if not the best LSM in the country. His teammate Tucker Dordevic thinks so.

• Despite coming off a tough loss to Lehigh on Tuesday, Rutgers looked like a team on a mission in the first half. They had all the energy and dominated in every facet outside of faceoffs.
• Part of that was due to the defense. They gave up two transition goals and a couple bad ones where there was a breakdown in communication. A big example came on Adam Charalambides’ fourth of the game. He was left wide open behind X.

• The second Rutgers goal of the game should not have counted. Charalambides still had the ball in his stick when the shot clock expired.

• Max Edelmann was a stud throughout. He made nine stops in the first half and 10 in the second. The Orange would’ve had at least 20 goals in the game if it weren’t for him.
• Brendan Curry’s game has vastly improved from this time a year ago. You can make an argument that he’s the best midfielder in the ACC.

• This was spiffy.

• So was this.

• Give props to the entire faceoff unit for a dominating second half. Not just Jake Phaup and Danny Varello, but also the wings. The Orange won 16-of-18 FOs in the final 30 minutes.
• Early in the final quarter, Solomon came out of the box as a midfielder, while Griffin Cook played attack with Voigt and Rehfuss. This also happened.

• I was a little intrigued by this when re-watching the game (couldn’t watch the game live since I was helping ESPN with Cornell-Yale). On that tying goal (as well as the following Orange goal that tied the game up at 14), Solomon got the LSM while Trimboli was assigned with a SSDM. Could that be what we see moving forward?
• Say the Orange use an attack unit of Cook-Rehfuss-Voigt and a midfield unit of Curry-Solomon-Trimboli. I wouldn’t be surprised if defenses think about putting a close defenseman on a midfielder, known as double-poleing in lacrosse terms. Put a shortie on Cook and pole Solomon and Trimboli? Overall, I like that six-man unit and the entire personnel. Have a second line of Buttermore-Lipka-Quinn/Carlin/Magnan.
• Speaking of Cook, the freshman scored the game-winner on a huge rip through Edelmann’s five-hole, assisted on David Lipka’s second, and scored on a nice crease dive.
• On the injury front, still no Lucas Quinn or Grant Murphy for the Orange. On the offensive side, I saw a lot more Pat Carlin over Matt Magnan, while ‘Cuse used three SSDMs (Peter Dearth, Andrew Helmer, and Brett Barlow) on even strength. There were times when Spencer Small and Nick Martin made appearances as well with the latter on the man-down unit.
• I do like the direction the team is going. I think the offense has been great in pretty much every game so far this season, including the Colgate loss. The defense has been a little inconsistent, especially starting the last two games. If that unit can tidy up a little bit, I think this team can make a good run in the NCAA Tournament.

What’s Next?

The Orange resume ACC conference play with a home game against the Duke Blue Devils Sunday at 2 PM on ESPNU. Duke is coming off a 12-10 win over Towson on Saturday.

However, the game may not be held inside the Carrier Dome. With the women’s basketball team currently projected to be a #3 seed according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme, the Orange would host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament this weekend in the Dome. That would mean the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams would need new venues for their games. Expect the new venue to be Cicero-North Syracuse High School, according to Quint Kessenich.

This week, the Orange are 12th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. I put them 11th in mine.