Baltimore, Maryland – Syracuse University used to three goal runs in the first half to beat the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays at Homewood Field on a beautiful afternoon in Baltimore. A packed house saw a great game by both teams, but in the end the Orange held on for a two-goal win.
The scoring started with Ryan Brown scoring on the Jays opening possession. Syracuse defense held strong for a timer on situation but Wells Stanwick found Ryan Brown on the doorstep to put the Jays up to open the scoring. Kevin Rice, Scott Loy, and Dylan Donahue each found the net to close the scoring in the first quarter to give the Orange the advantage early. The latter two goals were both assisted by Derek Maltz.
The second quarter opened with a quick goal by Ryan Brown, as the Blue Jays started a man-up after a penalty closed the first quarter. His goal was his second on what would be a career day of eight goals. This time assisted by senior midfielder Rob Guida. Syracuse and Hopkins would trade goals over the next five minutes with Bill Ward scoring off an assist from Donahue. During the next face-off, Zach Fields scored his first goal as a Blue Jay by racing to the goal, beating Dominic Lamolinara.
Syracuse would close the half on a three-goal run, all goals were unassisted. Scott Loy scored his seventh of the year to increase the Orange lead to two with his unassisted tally. Dylan Maltz dodged and scored on a great individual effort to double up the Jays on the scoreboard at 6-3. Henry Schoonmaker finished the first half by beating Eric Schneider to make it 7-3 to enter the half.
Hopkins started the second half on a run of three goals of their own. Ryan Brown scored three goals, two unassisted and one off an assist from John Crawley while on an extra man. The Orange stopped the Jays rally by going on their third three-goal run. First Billy Ward beat Schneider off a feed from Scott Loy. Dylan Donahue scored again, assisted by Ward, and Matt Harris scored in transition while Lamolinara was created with an assist. The advantage was four in favor of the visiting Orange.
The fourth started with another three goals from Ryan Brown, the first assisted by Brandon Benn and the last assisted by Connor Reed. After Brown’s eight goal of the game, both sides traded goals to close out the contest. Nick Weston got his second of the year, assisted by Ward. Holden Cattoni scored off a screened shot beating Lamolinara low. Donahue finished the scoring with an unassisted goal to close the contest.
Syracuse successfully ran the rest of the clock during the last minute of the game to seal the win. Dylan Donahue, who finished with three goals and an assist, led the Orange on the day. Lamolinara earned the win, going the full sixty minutes, with making eleven saves. Of Syracuse’s twelve goals, seven were assisted. They spread the scoring around with ten players registering points. Ryan Brown who finished the game with eight goals led the Jays. Drew Kennedy won 21 – 25 facing off. The Jays were 2 – 2 on extra man opportunities, while Syracuse was 0 – 1.
Next up for Syracuse is a rematch against the Duke Blue Devils, who defeated the Orange for last year’s National Championship. For Johns Hopkins, they travel south to take on Virginia.
– Brian Davies
@briandavies15
