Balanced Effort Leads 'Cuse Past UAlbany

Thursday, April 8

Syracuse, NY

5 PM

Syracuse University

5-3

UAlbany

5-3

UAlbany

Syracuse

4/8/2021 8:10:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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Eight different players scored

Syracuse snapped its two-game losing skid with a 13-8 victory over UAlbany on Thursday evening.

A balanced offensive attack, a strong defensive effort that held the Great Danes to their lowest goal total since April 19, 2019, and a much-improved faceoff unit was the recipe for a team victory.

It all started with possessions as faceoff men Jakob Phaup (9-of-15), Danny Varello (4-of-5) and Jack Savage (2-of-5) combined to win 15-of-25 at the X for Syracuse. The defense then held the Great Danes to just eight total goals and 30 shots, even with five extra-man opportunities. Defensively, Grant Murphy's five turnovers led the unit. The five caused turnovers is tied for the third most by an SU player ever in a single game (caused turnovers became an official statistic in 2010).

"It feels good to win," said head coach John Desko. "Last week we felt almost helpless with all the possessions Notre Dame had and we didn't have an opportunity to get back in the game. Tonight, we controlled our own destiny. I thought we were a little sloppy in the first quarter and came alive in the second and got better as the game went on.

"I thought we played very good defense. We didn't have to slide as much as we did a week ago. Our one-on-one defense was very good."

Offensively, eight different players found the back of the net. Chase Scanlan (3-1), Stephen Rehfuss (2-2), Brendan Curry (3-0) and Tucker Dordevic (1-1) had multi-point efforts.

Rehfuss led the way in getting Syracuse out to an early lead, scoring the game's first two goals and posting two assists in the second quarter as well. The teams battled back-and-forth early on, with the game tied at three, and four, before a four-goal spurt put 'Cuse on top for good.

Jacob Buttermore saw increased time as he recovered from an injury setback, scoring his second goal of the year in the first quarter, while Griffin Cook's highlight-reel goal notched his first of the year in a big way to continue production from the second midfield unit.

That four-nothing run put Syracuse up 8-4, before the Danes would get one back to head to the locker room down three. The teams traded goals out of halftime, and Albany got back within three with four minutes left in the third, but didn't score the rest of the way and Syracuse tacked on one more.

Next, Syracuse will host North Carolina on April 17, to kick start a stretch of three-straight games against teams ranked in the top-five.

GAME NOTES: The win moved Coach Desko past Carl Runk (262) and into sole possession of 15th on the NCAA Division I wins list, with 263 victories as a head coach ... The win guarantees another winning season at home, as Syracuse has finished above .500 in the Dome in all-42 seasons the team has played in the building ... Syracuse has now won 65-straight games that it has held its opponent to under-10 goals ... The eight goals was Albany's lowest output since being held to five vs. Yale in April 2019 ... Murphy's five CTs is the most in a game since 2013 by a Syracuse player.