Syracuse, N.Y. — Joey Spallina made sure that at least one of the top teams in the country survived their physical test against Colgate.
The Syracuse sophomore attacker matched his career-high in points (9) and assists (five) as the Orange pulled away in the second half of an 18-10 win over their in-state rivals.
No. 9 Syracuse led just 9-6 at halftime as Colgate’s physical play helped keep the game close early, just as it had during a win over No. 4 Penn State over the weekend.
But Syracuse long-stick midfielder Saam Olexo gave the Orange momentum heading into halftime by scoring with 34 seconds left and Syracuse scored the first three goals after halftime to take control and avoid a similar upset.
Instead the Orange poured it on throughout the, winning by their traditionally comfortable margin against the Raiders.
Michael Leo and Owen Hiltz both had had tricks for Syracuse, and Hiltz added three assists. Colgate was led by five points from Rory Connor (3 goals, 2 assists).
Syracuse (2-0) will play its third game in a week on Friday when the Orange host Manhattan at 4 p.m. Colgate (1-1) will visit Hobart on Sunday at noon.
Fourth quarter
14:13: Syracuse’s Landon Clary down on the far sideline with an injury. He’s helped off the JMA Wireless Dome field by two teammates. They were helping him avoid putting any weight on his right leg as he came off the field.
12:55: Colgate scores first in the fourth quarter, a short-handed goal by Jacob Sposita. Syracuse leads 17-9.
10:49: A number of penalties called as the officials try to keep the physicality in check to the finish line. Syracuse can’t convert on a two-man advantage. Colgate fails to score on a brief one-up opportunity. Orange still leads 17-9 and has things under control.
5:25: Colgate unable to score and Syracuse largely content to run clock on offense. We’re still at 17-9. No doubt about the winner at this point. Just the final score and whether Joey Spallina sets some new career-highs.
Third quarter
15:00: Syracuse wins the opening faceoff. The teams stand around for a long time at Joey Spallina holds the ball behind the net unchased by a defender. Eventually he forces a pass that goes for a turnover. Colgate also unable to score and the ball comes back to Syracuse.
12:06: Tucker Kellogg rips a man-up shot in off the crossbar. Syracuse takes advantage of a slash by Colgate and now leads 10-6.
8:51: Syracuse goes back to Spallina behind the net and he feeds Owen Hiltz coming loose in front of the net. Syracuse now leads 11-6 and seems to have a handle on the game again.
8:45: Another quick response from Syracuse. Another from Hiltz. This one off an assist from Mason Kohn. Great response from Syracuse coming out of the half. Orange leads 12-6.
6:45: Rory Connor scores Colgate’s first goal of the second half off a feed from Griffin Connor. Syracuse leads 12-7. Hard to imagine Colgate has the firepower to come back but the Raiders managed it in the first half. We’ll see if they can make it interesting twice.
6:34: Less likely that it’ll be interesting now. Syracuse scores its third goal of the game right off the faceoff, this one Mule from Kohn. Syracuse is up 13-7.
5:52: Syracuse now doubling up the Raiders. Michael Leo rips a shot from the wing off a Joey Spallina pass. Spallina now has tied his career-high with five assists. He also has three goals and is one point away from tying his career-high in points.
3:18: And there is a goal for Spallina, so now he’s matched his career-high in points. I missed a Colgate goal looking up those stats so Syracuse leads 15-8.
:47: Syracuse is showing off now. Michael Leo with a behind-the-back flip to Finn Thomson who is running the other way. He scores. Syracuse is up 16-8.
:34: And another one for Syracuse. This one for Mason Kohn. Orange up 17-8. The rout is on. That’s how we end the third.
Second quarter
15:00: Syracuse did pretty much everything exceptionally well in the first quarter. If you want to be picky you can complain about five turnovers but the Orange are playing with exceptional energy, dominating faceoffs, dominating groundballs and have Joey Spallina running things from behind the goal. Have to feel pretty good through one.
13:06: Rory Connor of Colgate holds onto the ball through a strong check by Syracuse and manages to find the ball of the net after recovering his balance. Colgate wins the faceoff. Syracuse leads 7-3.
11:57: A quick burst from Colgate here as Jack Turner converts a feed from Liam Connor. Syracuse will call a timeout after the Raiders get three straight.
7:06: After a long stretch where physical defense from both teams took the offenses out of commission Joey Spallina converts low on the extra-man. Assisted by Owen Hiltz. Spallina now with three goals and three assists in the first half. Syracuse leads 8-4.
5:11: A miraculous goal for Colgate cuts it to 8-5. Ryan Favaro was down on his knees trying to get a loose ball but he managed to and shoveled it from his knees to Griffin Walker, who was open in front of the net. Syracuse called for slashing on the play as well, gives the Raiders a chance to make it a two-goal game.
4:33: Rory O’Conner beats Will Mark up high and the Raiders are back within 8-6. A tremendous effort from Colgate given how this game started. Syracuse does win the faceoff and has a chance to push it back to three goals.
2:49: Colgate timeout as the Raiders want to maintain possession as they kill a penalty. Raiders will look to get the deficit to one before halftime.
2:06: Colgate picks up a two-minute non-releasable penalty for a blow to the head. We’ll see if the Orange can use it to get some breathing room. The Orange did lose possession quickly.
1:04: After regaining possession Syracuse calls timeout to see if it can push it to three before halftime.
:34: Big, big goal for Syracuse’s Saam Olexo. Spallina had been stopped (maybe) on a point-blank shot where Colgate’s goalie bumped into the post. It was unclear if the ball crossed the line. Spallina ran back trying to alert SU’s coaches about what he considered the official’s error but the Orange still forced a turnover and Olexo took it back the other way. It gives the Orange a much more comfortable 9-6 lead at halftime, especially with how Colgate came on in the second quarter. It’s going to be interesting to see whether Colgate’s physicality can continue to wear down the Orange of whether Syracuse can regroup in the second half.
First quarter
13:28: Good signs for Syracuse to start this one. The Orange wins the opening faceoff and takes the lead on a tic-tac-toe pass that ended with Joey Spallina finding Owen Hiltz in front of the net. Orange win the second faceoff as well.
11:40: Spallina makes it 2-0 after Syracuse kills off a man-advantage for Colgate following a push. Christian Mule came in from the penalty box to get the ball and somehow the Raiders didn’t pick up Spallina on the doorstep. That’s a good way to get beat. Raiders briefly win the faceoff but the Orange eventually secure the ball off a scramble.
10:45: Michael Leo rips a shot from 15 yards straight on. Orange leads it 3-0 and is giving Colgate no hope in the early going. SU wins the facoff and Mule barely misses a one-timer on the doorstep.
9:52: Syracuse leads 4-0 after Jake Stevens picks up a groundball and has an unobstructed run to the goal. Orange pouring it on.
9:44: Eight seconds later another Syracuse goal. Orange win the faceoff and go right up the middle with Carter Rice taking a feed in front and converting a one-time shot from the doorstep. Colgate calls a timeout and the Orange stream off the sidelines. This is looking like an Orange tour de force.
5:06: Colgate finally gets on the board as leading scorer Hunter Drouin runs down the alley and beats Will Mark up high. Orange still leads 5-1.
4:40: Quick response from Syracuse. Orange get it to quarterback Joey Spallina behind the ball and he finds Finn Thomson for a long shot from straight on. Orange lead 6-1. That’s three assists in the early going for Spallina.
3:06: Second goal of the game for Joey Spallina who rips an absurdly smooth behind-the-back shot directly off a pass from Christian Mule. Simply ridiculous. Orange lead 7-1.
:49: Liam Connor, the hero for Colgate against Penn State, scores his first of the game. Raiders get the faceoff on a violation. We end the first period with the Orange leading 7-2.
Pregame
Syracuse will again be without midfielder Jackson Birtwistle against Colgate with a lower-body injury. An SU spokesperson said it’s a lower-body injury and his status will be determined on a game-by-game basis. The injury is not expected to be long-term. He also missed SU’s opener.
The Orange and Colgate last met in 2020 with Syracuse earning a 21-14 victory, a customary result in the series between the in-state rivals. The Raiders did earn a rare win over Syracuse in 2019, a 12-9 upset.
Colgate had a chance to be feisty again, at least if its 13-12 upset win at No. 4 Penn State over the weekend is any indication.
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