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ALBANY — At the end of the first quarter, Brendan Curry flashed his speed to set up a golden chance for Owen Seebold. It was a sure goal. Instead, the Syracuse attack missed.

That miss was one of many that eventually forced SU into a spot where it needed to mount a comeback against an unranked UAlbany team. The Orange ultimately came up short, too, losing 14-12.

Syracuse scored four straight goals to close out the third quarter, pulling within one goal, but Albany squashed that momentum when it scored immediately after the start of the fourth quarter. SU took 52 shots but converted just 12 of those against the Great Danes’ third-string goalie, who was earning his first playing time of the year.

“Yeah, it was easy,” head coach Gary Gait said when asked if he knew what went wrong on offense. “We didn’t finish.”

Thursday evening, as the rain fell at Casey Stadium in Albany, Syracuse’s (4-6, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) lowly season stooped even lower when it suffered its first loss against an unranked opponent since 2019. Now two games under .500, SU’s on track to have its first losing season since 2007. The Orange were without key offensive players Griffin Cook, Lucas Quinn and Owen Hiltz — who are all injured — and freshman Tyler Cordes, who missed the week of practice due to illness, according to an SU Athletics spokesperson. SU star attack Tucker Dordevic was largely ineffective, managing just three goals on 15 shots.

And in what could have turned into its final straightforward game of the season, against likely the final unranked opponent of the season, a banged up Syracuse team couldn’t take care of business.

“I think it’s a huge factor,” Gait said of the injuries and thinner lineup. “We’re playing with what we have, and they’re doing their best and working really hard. But they don’t have a lot of experience, and it showed a little bit today.”

Last week, Syracuse allowed Jake Taylor, a player who’d scored just two career goals, to notch a program-record eight in Notre Dame’s win. Thursday, SU let up two pole goals in the first half and another two from Adam Thistlethwaite, an Albany freshman who’d never scored before. Syracuse allowed a hat trick to Thomas Decker, who entered the game with two career goals. It watched Dordevic get held scoreless for over 30 consecutive minutes.

Gait said Albany was face-guarding Dordevic, getting in his face and sliding to him early. He looked out of rhythm at the start when he had the ball stripped as he ran away from the cage by Camden Hay, and again when he showed a lack of awareness on another play where he was triple-teamed and yard-saled. Albany used the latter of those plays to score via Graydon Hogg, a shot that Bobby Gavin seemed to have under control but still somehow sneaked past him.

The Orange trailed by five goals with less than five minutes left in the third quarter before they finally jolted to life. That’s when Dordevic settled into the game, beginning when he ripped a shot for a man-up goal.

Syracuse struggled with turnovers and inconsistent offense on Thursday night. Courtesy of Kathleen Helman | UAlbany Athletics

The comeback against UAlbany peaked in the third quarter when Brett Kennedy spun out of pressure deep in his own half and passed the ball upfield. Mikey Berkman scored an easy goal on the doorstep to make it 11-9.

Then, Jacob Buttermore scored on a step-down shot into the bottom right corner, completing his hat trick and SU’s four-goal run, and also making it a one-goal game entering the fourth quarter.

But immediately after the stoppage, Albany’s faceoff specialist won the draw and sprinted down the field to score within seven seconds. Kennedy said postgame that the play shifted the game’s momentum. “They came out right away in the fourth quarter,” he said. “Their faceoff guy did a nice job winning it at the front and then getting the goal off.”

Then Hogg scored on a man-up chance, and Hay converted a two man-up chance to seal the game. Gait said the defense did well to get some stops, but the difference maker was UAlbany’s ability to finish its man-up chances.

Buttermore was Syracuse’s most productive weapon in the first half, notching two goals on three shots. The senior fired home a low shot to equalize the game at one after Berkman picked out a pass to him from X and then scored unassisted despite being matched up with a long-pole.

Curry used flashes of speed to help create opportunities for SU and scored twice. Seebold had a hat trick, and so did Dordevic, but neither was productive. Alongside them, reserve midfielder Pete Fiorini had his first career start. Matteo Corsi, Liam Ferris, Matt Magnan and Jackson Birtwistle all played a fair chunk of minutes. None were experienced enough to be productive. Only Buttermore was efficient, notching three goals on five shots in his first career start.

“We’re just shallow,” Gait said. “It’s not one player, it’s not two, it’s three or four or five that you replace, and it just makes it difficult.”

Despite the thinner lineup, Syracuse still had a chance. But when it counted most, with the Great Danes leading 13-11, Syracuse couldn’t cash in on a man-up opportunity, and Dordevic had his shot saved by Will Ramos. SU’s defense committed two penalties on the same possession, allowing Albany to score on a 6-on-4.

Syracuse sent Gavin out of the cage in hopes of mounting a three-goal comeback within the final minutes and successfully won the ball back. But Curry threw a pass well wide of the intended target for a turnover. The Albany fans — soaked from Thursday evening’s nonstop rain, which Gait said wasn’t an excuse for the poor execution — erupted into cheers.

“It was just pretty sloppy lacrosse,” Gait said.

Published on April 7, 2022 at 9:34 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16