The Syracuse Orange out ran the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays for a 13-10 win at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse overcame an early deficit and used a number of runs each time Hopkins came back to tie the game to earn the win. Randy Staats offensive output lead the Orange.
Johns Hopkins opened the scoring when senior Wells Stanwick found midfielder Kieran Eissler. The Jays continued scoring the next two, taking a three-goal lead early in the game. Junior attackman Ryan Brown and Connor Reed both scored in the run.
Syracuse scored their opening goal when Hackeem Lecky drove to the middle of the Hopkins defense and beat Eric Schneider. Hopkins would answer right back when Brown scored his second of the contest. The Blue Jays took at early 4-1 lead.
At 4:22 left in the first quarter, freshman Shack Stanwick found John Crawley in the middle and he deposited it behind Syracuse senior goalie Bobby Wardwell to increase the lead. Syracuse would answer when Kevin Rice found line mate Randy Staats sneaking from behind the net to cut into the lead. The quarter would close with Hopkins ahead 5-2.
The second quarter opened with both teams trading possessions, but the Orange would answer first. Dylan Donahue found Henry Schoonmaker posted alone and he fired one by the goalie to cut the lead to two. Staats would then create an extra man opportunity and finish to bring the deficit to just one goal when Schoonmaker found alone goal line extended.
Junior transfer Tim Barber would tie the game at five, assisted by Sergio Salcido. The run continued when Nicky Galasso tripped up his defender and scored unassisted to give Syracuse their first lead. After a midfield turnover, Kevin Rice drove to the net to get his first goal of the game.
Syracuse continued the pressure when Donahue found Paolo Ciferri cutting to the goal, scoring his second of the season. The seven-goal run ended when Wells Stanwick scored an unassisted goal. On the play, there was a foul committed but Hopkins failed to convert on the opportunity. At half, Syracuse led 8-6 in front of the home crowd.
Shack Stanwick opened the second half scoring and cut the lead in half with his tally. The Jays are able to tie the game at eight, capitalizing with an extended possession. Stanwick would tally for his second straight, this time assisted by Eissler.
Randy Staats gave Syracuse the lead back. After Hopkins Eric Schneider saved the initial shot, Staats fought for the rebound and shot it through the crowd for the goal. Kevin Rice would find Galasso open on the doorstep to reclaim the two-goal lead with just 32 seconds left in the quarter.
An extra-man opportunity would again cut the lead to one when John Crawley scored to open the fourth quarter. Pat Frazier’s eighth extra man goal of the season tied the game at eight. The long possession that Hopkins had due to the two minute unreleaseable penalty allowed Hopkins to put continued pressure before Hopkins finally broke through.
A quick break for Syracuse lead to Rice finding Donahue open to take the lead back with 7:38 remaining. Schoonmaker’s goal gets the score to 12-10 in favor of Syracuse. After a late timeout, Staats scored his fourth goal of the day to give the Orange a three-goal lead.
Late in the game, face-offs were critical in Syracuse being able to outlast the Blue Jays. The game was a battle of runs and Syracuse had one more than Hopkins. With the win, Syracuse will stay at the top spot in the nation. The Blue Jays fall to 3-4 on the season.
Randy Staats had four goals in the win. Bobby Wardwell had five saves, earning the win. Next for the Syracuse Orange will be a rematch of the 2013 title game when the Duke University Blue Devils come to the Carrier Dome.
Ryan Brown and Shack Stanwick led the Jays offense with four points. Both had two goals and two assists on the day. Eric Schneider ended the game with 13 assists in the loss. Virginia travels to Homewood Field next weekend before the Jays open their inaugural Big Ten schedule.
