Jakob Phaup wasn’t surprised on Sunday. Throughout the last week, Syracuse head coach John Desko anticipated that Army would throw the “kitchen sink” at his faceoff duo. A long pole at the X paired with two more on the wings. An attack. A traditional faceoff specialist. In the end, it didn’t matter who stood wore the black jersey at the block ‘S’ in midfield.

In recent practices, SU deployed a scout team of long-stick midfielders Brett Barlow and Sam Schluter to mimic the Black Knights’ plan of attack. They whacked at Phaup and junior Danny Varello’s arms and fought for ground balls. Black Knights’ head coach Joe Alberici told his faceoff unit to create ground ball opportunities, an issue SU has had in the early season. No. 13 Army (3-1) was prepared for the Orange’s “two-headed monster” combo with Phaup and Varello. But it was Phaup’s one-man performance that stood out, propelling No. 17 Syracuse (2-1) to a 10-8 win in the Carrier Dome.

Entering the contest, the Black Knights had a 27.3 percent faceoff win-percentage. A number not even listed on the NCAA stats board. The lowest — Fairfield’s 32.4 percent — ranked 69th. Phaup won 15 of the game’s 21 battles at the X, granting his offense extra possession. Which it then used to break down Army goalie AJ Barretto, who tallied a career-high 18 saves.

“All throughout the week we practiced during our fog drill a pole coming on,” Phaup said. “So during the game it was just like second nature cause we prepared so well for it during the week.”

Through three games, Desko has shown a willingness to “adjust on the fly” when it comes to tabbing a main face-off specialist. Varrello offers quickness, Desko said after a recent practice. Whereas Phaup has a strength advantage. On Sunday, the 21-year-head coach tabbed Phaup and watched the possessions string together.

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On the game’s opening faceoff, Varello was muscled off his spot by Army’s Evan Condon. The Black Knights then charged down the field and ripped three consecutive shots on Orange goalie Drake Porter. On the fourth rebound, Liam Davenport sniped the near post following a pass from behind the cage.

Varello and Condon battled for the ensuing two faceoffs, splitting victories. But SU wasn’t able to sustain possession. The ball quickly moved through the offensive zone, sometimes resulting in wide passes or turnovers. In one first quarter stretch, junior midfielder Jamie Trimboli put his hands in the air, as if he was telling the offensive to settle down. The Orange did, running a stack play with redshirt junior attack Stephen Rehfuss behind the net. No one broke free, though.

But then Phaup was inserted after a Jacob Buttermore score. Phaup won his first draw after a pushing foul swung possession in SU’s favor. On his next try, he flicked it to himself. In a dogfight first quarter, Phaup’s win allowed Jamie Trimboli to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead headed into the break.

“He did a tremendous job of getting the ball out to space and picking the ball up and running with it and getting to the open man,” Desko said of Phaup. “As a result, he gave us a lot of possessions that we might not have in different situations.”

As SU’s offense slowly opened up in the second quarter, it was Phaup’s wins that kick-started the momentum. He won in a variety of ways. He dug through two black jerseys and scooped a grounder. He tossed it to himself at other times. On other draws, Austin Fusco blocked his opposing wing with a long pole and Phaup muscled away the plastic ball and charged up field.

When senior Bradley Voigt scored with 8:09 left in the second, Phaup ran to midfield mid-celebration. He adjusted his gloves, crouched down and won again. In the game’s decisive stretch — a 5-1 Orange run that extended through the second and third frames — Phaup shone. SU earned eight of nine draws which turned into eight more shot attempts and three more goals.

For long periods, Barretto stifled Syracuse. He tallied eight saves in the second quarter and finished with 18. He knocked away door-step tries, stepped into passing lanes and cleared with relative ease. The 5-foot-6 stopper shined at times, triggering cheers from the Black Knights’ fan section. But Phaup’s performance kept the pressure on the senior, and eventually SU broke through.

“We wanted to keep it on the ground for as long as we can,” Alberici said, “try to get our wings in there to play, make plays and they made a couple turnovers. For the most part, (Phaup) did an outstanding job.”

Late in the fourth quarter, a “Let’s go Orange” chant trickled through the stands. Redshirt sophomore David Lipka worked down the alley, ripped and sealed the contest with a score. Phaup rushed to midfield and subtly pumped his fist. He then lowered his stick head and capped the ‘W.’ When he reached the Syracuse sidelines, he chest-bumped a teammate. Once again, he had made sure that the Orange took advantage of Army’s biggest weakness.

“If I’m giving out MVP,” Alberici said, “I thought he was clearly the guy. He was terrific. He was a big difference in the game.”

Published on February 24, 2019 at 8:26 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez