Kevin Rice pumped his arms above his head with two hands on his stick as if he was performing a bench press.
And then he did it again.
And again.
It was an homage to Randy Staats, who missed No. 1 Syracuse’s (7-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) 19-7 win over No. 4 Duke (7-2, 0-1) with a lower-body injury and usually celebrates goals with this hand gesture. And even without its second-leading goal scorer, the Orange flexed its muscles against the Blue Devils before a season-high 11,408 fans in the Carrier Dome.
Faceoff specialist Ben Williams won 10-straight faceoffs during a stretch in the first half, which allowed Syracuse to build a commanding 10-1 lead. Essentially, the Orange would simply score, win the faceoff, repeat.
Dylan Donahue (five goals, two assists) and Rice (four goals, three assists) played catch, connecting twice for goals in the first seven minutes. The first time, Rice stood behind the goal and passed to Donahue, who cut across the front of the crease and finished with a lefty shot to the high, opposite corner.
On the next possession, after another Williams faceoff win, Donahue stood behind the cage this time and found Rice slicing through an opening in Duke’s defense, causing Blue Devils head coach John Danowski to take a timeout with his team trailing 4-0 just halfway through the opening quarter.
Syracuse won the next faceoff, but FOGO Jack Rowe checked the ball out of Williams’ stick and DU gained possession. Duke midfielder Myles Jones — arguably the best at his position in the country — dodged toward the Orange’s goal from near the restraining line.
But as he penetrated, he was immediately met by SU midfielder Tom Grimm, who repeatedly checked Jones’ hands, and a host of other Syracuse defenders. Regardless, Jones still got by and unloaded a shot that ricocheted off the cross bar. That might have been the closest Jones came to scoring as he took a team-high eight shots but finished with no goals, one assist and a game-high four turnovers
It was nearly a year to the day when Duke beat Syracuse 21-7 in Durham, North Carolina last season on March 23. The Blue Devils used that game to solidify their standing as a serious national-championship contender.
This time, Syracuse’s blowout win did the same for the Orange.
