SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A last-second stop by the Syracuse defense fended off Notre Dame’s attempt at overtime, handing top-ranked UND its second loss of the season. No. 4 Syracuse (7-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast) got four goals from senior attack Nick Mariano, three from sophomore Nate Solomon and a stout defensive effort to upend the Fighting Irish (5-2, 1-1) on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Arlotta Stadium. In a game of lead changes and quick bursts, Syracuse held on late.

Here are three quick reactions to the game.

Why not seven?

Notre Dame reeled off three unanswered goals to tie the game at the end of three quarters. A four-goal third, backed by six ground balls and four-of-six won faceoffs, made it even with 15 minutes to play. Syracuse entered Saturday having played in a program-record six consecutive one-goal games, so why not make it seven?

In the fourth, Syracuse buckled down to hold Notre to only one goal. Its biggest stop came on the final possession. Out of a timeout with 32.1 seconds left, UND senior midfielder Brendan Gleason ripped a lefty shot from right outside of the crease. Molloy raised his stick and deflected the ball out of bounds. With just over 10 seconds to go out of another timeout, SU held UND without a shot, pulling off the upset.

Defensive lockdown

Scott Firman locked up Notre Dame’s leading points-getter, sophomore attack Ryder Garnsey, to not a single first-half shot. Midway through the second quarter, Garnsey looked to dart toward the cage before he caught a pass. He dropped the pass, nearly losing the ball. After Garnsey recovered, with Firman on his body, he tossed a pass over the cage and out of bounds.

Notre Dame 6-foot-4 senior midfielder Sergio Perkovic also did not get a shot off in the first. He stepped into an outside shot early in the game, but had it deflected. He and Garnsey combined for 24 goals entering Saturday. They had zero goals until the fourth quarter neared.

In goal, Molloy fended off successive point-blank shots and long slings from the outside. Nimble in the cage, the senior blocked UND’s aggressive third quarter and held the Fighting Irish to only four goals.

Solomon and Mariano deliver

Solomon has had a quiet, productive season working alongside Jordan Evans and Mariano. After scoring four goals in his first career start in the season opener, he dropped three on Saturday. He hardly dodged, instead camping out by the crease for a few dishes from attackmen. 

Mariano, a senior attack, scored a game- and season-high four goals — one in each quarter except UND’s dominant third frame — even against a top-ranked UND defense that keyed on him. He has seven goals in his last two games.

The first came early, off of a right-alley dodge and blow-by on long-stick midfielder John Sexton. Evans gave him the ball and Mariano pinned an accurate shot for his 16th goal of the season.

His second score came on a roll-back, beating Shane Doss with a right-handed rip top shelf off a slight spin, giving Syracuse a 7-5 lead in the second.

He stroked his third goal early in the fourth quarter, shortly after a Ben Williams faceoff victory. Mariano ran left from the X against a short-stick defensive midfielder and stuck it far post, fading away from the goal to put Syracuse up 10-9. His fourth and final score came off a sweep topside to his left, beating Doss again and extending the Orange lead to 11-9.

 

Published on April 1, 2017 at 2:21 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21