Defensive Showcase Gives No. 5/6 Syracuse Another Top-5 Win

Wednesday, March 20

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

8-2, 1-0

Duke

8-2, 0-1

Duke

Syracuse

Defensive Showcase Gives No. 5/6 Syracuse Another Top-5 Win

3/20/2024 9:42:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Tickets Highlights Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In a defensive performance for the history books, the No. 5/6 Syracuse men's lacrosse team held No. 3/4 Duke (8-2, 0-1 ACC) to just four goals, the lowest goals 'Cuse has allowed against an ACC opponent since the Orange's first season in the ACC in 2014.

The Syracuse (8-2, 1-0) defense held Duke's number one scoring offense to its lowest goal total since the Blue Devils had three goals against Notre Dame on Feb. 18, 2012. The Orange restricted Tewaaraton Award watchlist member and Duke's all-time point leader Brennan O'Neill to just one goal and one assist in the contest. Netminder Will Mark stopped 14 shots and finished with a .778 save percentage.

Owen Hiltz led the Orange offense with three goals for his fifth hat trick of the season. Jake Stevens dished out a career-high three assists. Jackson Birtwistle slotted in two goals and Joey Spallina contributed two assists. Finn Thomson, Christian Mulé and Michael Leo each added one goal and one assist for multi-point performances.

Both squads shot 36 times in the game, but the Orange put 24 of those on cage while the Blue Devils had 18 on goal. The sides were well matched on the ground as Syracuse grabbed 26 ground balls and Duke had 24. Each team found success when clearing the rock, Syracuse went 24-of-25 on the clear and Duke was successful on 21-of-23.

How It Happened

The Blue Devils struck first as Benn Johnston netted his 11^th goal of the season at the 10:52 mark in the first quarter.
Finn Thomson got the Orange on the board after converting on an extra man opportunity. Stevens found Thomson on the crease, he turned and slipped it passed the keeper to equalize the score at 1-1 with 6:39 to go in the first period.
Syracuse got two more goals before the end of the first quarter. Leo netted one on his own and Steven found Hiltz five yards in front of goal line extended to put the Orange in front, 3-1.
Duke's O'Neill fed Andrew McAdorey to open the second quarter scoring. Luke Rhoa scored off a feed from Mulé for the last goal of the first half. Syracuse went into halftime with a 4-2 lead.
The Orange scored four-straight goals out of the break to extend their run to five goals, which gave Syracuse an 8-2 advantage with 3:08 to go in the third quarter. During the stretch, Hiltz and Kohn each netted one and Birtwistle scored back-to-back to cap the rally.
Josh Zawada scored one at the 2:07 mark in the third quarter. The Orange responded with a goal from Mulé with 1:06 left in the period to give 'Cuse a six-goal lead once again.
Hiltz netted his third of the game with 13:08 remaining in the outing to give Syracuse its largest lead of the contest, 10-3. O'Neill logged the final goal of the affair with 10:30 to go.

Behind The Numbers

Coming into the game, Duke ranked atop Division I in scoring offense with 17.9 goals per game.
'Cuse has allowed just six goals over the last seven quarters played.
While down a man, the Orange have allowed one goal in the last six games.
Syracuse held Duke scoreless for a span of 24:25 between the second and third quarters, the third longest stretch this season. Tonight marked the fifth time this season the Orange have held an opponent scoreless for over 20 minutes.
Mark has totaled 46 saves in his last three meetings against Duke. Over the last two years, he has a .696 save percentage versus the Blue Devils.
The four-goal mark is the third fewest goals that the Orange have allowed in a conference game in program history.
The Orange improved to 78-consecutive wins in games where they held their opponent to under 10 goals.
The Orange improved to 9-4 in ACC openers since joining the league in 2014.

Up Next
The Orange are set for a short trip to Geneva, New York for the Kraus-Simmons Trophy game, which Syracuse has claimed in for the last nine meetings. The contest is slated for Saturday, March 23 at 5 p.m. Ticket's for 'Cuse men's lacrosse home games can be found at cuse.com/tickets.