Spallina Surpasses 100 Career Points in No. 8/6 Syracuse Win

Wednesday, February 21

Syracuse, N.Y.

Noon

Syracuse University

Utah

Spallina Surpasses 100 Career Points in No. 8/6 Syracuse Win

2/21/2024 2:34:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – An eight-goal run over the first three quarters helped send the No. 8/6 Syracuse men's lacrosse team to an 18-7 victory against Utah on Wednesday afternoon in the JMA Wireless Dome.

Joey Spallina surpassed 100 career points with his three goals and four assists, putting him at 104 for his career. He hit the mark in just 20 games, becoming the third fastest player in Syracuse history to 100 points.

Finn Thomson tallied a season-high three goals and added one assist. Christian Mulé netted two and dished out two assists. Owen Hiltz (2g), Michael Leo (2g), Jackson Birtwistle (2g), Mason Kohn (1g, 1a) and Saam Olexo (1g, 1a) all contributed multi-point performances.

The Orange were commanding at the X, winning 21 of the 29 faceoffs in the contest. Kohn won 14 of the 18 he took, while John Mullen went 7 of 11.

Will Mark finished with a .700 save percentage with 14 stops and just six goals allowed. He helped the Orange to an efficient 24-of-25 (.960) on clear attempts.

How it Happened

The Utes were first on the board after Tyler Bradbury netted his fourth of the season.
Jackson Birtwistle and Leo each scored to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead with 10:26 left in the first quarter. Utah's Cody Hart knotted the score at 2-2 with a solo goal at the 8:32 mark in first period.
The Orange began to separate with three goals in a 3:42 span to go in front, 5-2, with 4:13 remaining in the first quarter. Mulé, Hiltz and Olexo each contributed goals to the run.
Ryan Stines netted his fifth of the season and cut Utah's deficit to two, 5-3, with 3:03 to go in the first period.
After Stines goal, the Orange held the Utes scoreless for a 34:07-span, the longest drought for an opponent this season. The drought lasted from 3:03 left in the first quarter to the 13:56 mark in the fourth.
During the Utah drought, Syracuse scored eight unanswered goals to own a 13-3 advantage. Thomson netted three, Joey Spallina knocked through two, and Leo and Hiltz each had one. Jake Spallina scored his first career goal to cap off the run with 5:35 to go in the third quarter.
Jordan Hyde scored back-to-back goals for the Utes in the fourth quarter, which made the score 13-5 in favor of the Orange. Kohn controlled the following faceoff and hit Joey Spallina for his third goal of the game.
After Cody Hart scored his second of the game, Sam English and Birtwistle each contributed goals to give the Orange a double-digit lead, 16-6, for the second time in the affair.
Utah got its final goal of the afternoon from Zachary White, his first of the season. Kohn and Mulé each netted one to close out the contest.

Behind the Numbers

Syracuse extended its streak to 76-straight wins when holding opponents to under 10 goals in a game.
The Orange improved to 73-35 in games following a loss during a season.
There were nine goals scored for Syracuse on the possession directly following a faceoff win. Five were following wins by Kohn and four after wins by Mullen. The Orange have scored 36 total goals on the possession after a win at the X, 28 are attributed to Kohn and eight to Mullen.

Up Next
Syracuse will be back in the Dome for their next outing against Army West Point on Wednesday, February 28, at 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. Tickets are available at Cuse.com/Tickets.