No. 9/9 Syracuse Takes Down No. 4/2 Johns Hopkins

Saturday, March 9

Charlotte, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

6-2

Johns Hopkins

5-2

Johns Hopkins

Syracuse

No. 9/9 Syracuse Takes Down No. 4/2 Johns Hopkins

3/9/2024 10:04:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a powerhouse matchup between two top-10 programs, the No. 9/9 Syracuse men's lacrosse team outlasted No. 4/2 Johns Hopkins (5-2), 14-13, on Saturday night in the Crown Lacrosse Classic.

Syracuse's (6-2) Joey Spallina and Owen Hiltz combined for 10 points on the way to the victory. Spallina finished with two goals and three assists while Hiltz had two goals and three assists. Jake Stevens and Christian Mulé each contributed a hat trick in the outing. Finn Thomson (1g, 2a) and Luke Rhoa (1g, 1a) rounded out the Orange performers who produced multi-point games.

The Orange opened the game with seven straight faceoff wins. Mason Kohn had five and John Mullen got two during the seven-win stretch. Syracuse ended the contest getting possession on 22-of-31 (.710) attempts on the faceoff. Kohn finished the game with 18 wins on 25 attempts at the X while Mullen came away with four wins on his six attempts.

Garrett Degnon paced the Blue Jays' offense with five goals. Jacob Angelus added a team-leading three assists. Matt Collison and Dylan Bauer each contributed two goals and one assist for Johns Hopkins.

How it Happened

Mulé netted the first goal of the game off a feed from Thomson to put the Orange on the board 1:27 into the contest. The Blue Jays responded as Brendan Grimes hit Jimmy Ayers for a goal to knot the score at 1-1 with 8:14 left in the first quarter.
Spallina and Hiltz scored back-to-back shots and gave 'Cuse a 3-1 lead with 2:50 to go in the first period.
Johns Hopkins scored the final goal of the first quarter and added two more in the second period. Degnon netted two and Hunter Chauvette had a goal and assist during the three-goal run. The Blue Jays took a 4-3 advantage into the halftime intermission.
The Orange came out of the break hot, scoring three unanswered goals in a 1:02-span to go back in front, 6-4, with 12:39 to go in the third quarter. Hiltz, Spallina and Mulé each contributed one goal during the rally.
After a solo goal from Hopkins' Collison, Syracuse tallied two consecutive goals to extend its lead to three, 8-5, with 8:12 left in the third period. Jake Stevens converted off a dish from Hiltz, then Mulé slotted it by the keeper off a feed from Spallina.
The Blue Jays countered with a three-goal run to even the score at 8-8 with 3:31 left in the third period. Bauer scored one and assisted one while Degnon and Ayers each netted goals during the stretch.
In the ending 2:31 of the third quarter, Luke Rhoa, Michael Leo and Thomson each added goals to give the Orange a three-goal lead once again. Spallina assisted on all three of the shots.
Sam English got the first goal in the final 15 minutes to give Syracuse its largest advantage of the game, 12-8, with 14:04 remaining. Johns Hopkins retaliated and cut its deficit to two with goals from Hunter Jaronski and Degnon.
Stevens sandwiched goals between one from Hopkins' Bauer that pushed the Orange lead to three, 14-11, with 9:46 to go. Degnon scored off a pass from Collison, then Collison netted one off a dish from Angelus that brought Johns Hopkins within one of Syracuse with 2:31 left.
Kohn won the faceoff following Collison's goal which allowed 'Cuse to have an extended offensive possession, eventually leading to the Orange win.

Behind the Numbers

The Orange took down a top-5 opponent for the first time since they knocked off No. 5 Virginia, 13-11, in Charlottesville on April 24, 2021
Syracuse improved to 6-2 to open the season for the first time in the Gary Gait era.
The battle on the ground went Syracuse's way, as the Orange grabbed 33 ground balls to Johns Hopkins' 25.
The Orange found success on 10-of-12 clears while the Blue Jays went 11-of-17 on clear attempts.
Syracuse out-shot Hopkins 46-36 and landed 29 on cage compared to the Blue Jays' 24.
'Cuse snagged its first victory against a ranked opponent this season with its win tonight.

Up Next
Syracuse has another neutral site game on deck as they are set to face Delaware in Chantilly, Virginia, on Saturday, March 16, at 2 p.m.