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After Hobart’s John Herlihy scored his fourth goal of the game with 36 seconds left, pulling Hobart within a goal of Syracuse, Jakob Phaup won the ensuing faceoff and the Orange went into the Statesmen’s end. Hobart couldn’t clear and Brendan Curry notched his fifth goal of the game, sealing a close win for SU.

In the 107th edition of the Kraus-Simmons Trophy game, No. 14 Syracuse (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) held on to defeat Hobart (2-2) 18-16. The game was back and forth, with five different lead changes. But the Orange were spared of their defensive errors as Tucker Dordevic and Curry led Syracuse’s offense and SU broke its longest losing streak since 2016.

Here are some observations from the first Syracuse-Hobart rivalry game since 2020:

Turnover battle, Hobart’s man-up opportunities keep it close

In its loss to Army, Syracuse committed 19 turnovers, its most in a single-game since 2019. It’s what cost the Orange their lead heading into the fourth quarter, and ultimately the game. Syracuse also allowed three man-up opportunities against the Black Knights, two of which they capitalized on, including one at the beginning of the fourth quarter to take the lead for the final time.

Against Hobart, Syracuse matched that penalty total by halftime, and the Statesmen capitalized quickly on all three man-up chances — all at crucial points in the first half. The first came early in the first half, as Phaup committed a faceoff violation that allowed Tommy Mott to score from the left wing.

Then, in the second half, Saam Olexo was called for holding, and Ryan Archer scored on an open lane to tie the game at six after Grant Murphy failed to slide over in time. And six minutes later, as Dordevic scored to pull Syracuse ahead by one goal, Brandon Aviles committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which allowed Anthony Dattellas to score immediately on a low bouncing shot past Harrison Thompson to tie the game once again.

But the Orange also caused three Hobart turnovers within the game’s first 10 minutes, sparking its offense early on. After the Orange knocked Josh Duby to the ground to prevent a clear attempt, the ball went out of play and the restart quickly went to an open Dordevic on the right wing. He took advantage of the space and found Curry in front for an easy finish within the 8-meter.

Syracuse gets offense going early

After being held to its lowest single-quarter shot totals of the season in the first and fourth quarters against Army, Syracuse got on the front foot, and it did so early.

The Orange led 4-3 after the first quarter and then added six goals in the second frame, as both teams exchanged leads four times. Mikey Berkman scored from the top right of the 8-meter after running from behind the net and scoring the off-balanced shot to score Syracuse’s ninth goal of the half. Minutes later, Curry completed his first half hat trick as he ran in from the left side and scored from the middle of the Hobart zone, hitting the shot while running away from the net.

Dordevic and Curry combined for eight points in the first half and finished the game with 13, propelling Syracuse to its second win of the season.

Dordevic gets back on track

After scoring five goals in his first two games, Dordevic was held to just one against Virginia and Army. Dordevic notched two assists against Army, where he took a season-high 10 shots, though only four made it on net. But Dordevic found his scoring touch once again in Sunday’s back-and-forth contest, finishing the game with five goals.

Lucas Quinn found Berkman in the middle of the attacking zone, and Berkman found Dordevic on the right. Dordevic ran inside and hit a side-armed shot running away from the net to make the score 5-3.

Dordevic was Syracuse’s difference-maker against Maryland in the first half, scoring a hat trick before halftime which allowed the Orange to pull within a goal of the top-ranked Terrapins at the half. Dordevic’s five-point first half allowed the Orange to hold onto a three-point lead at halftime on Sunday, though.

He carried that into the second half, scoring early in the third quarter as he canceled out Hobart’s man-up goal after receiving the ball from Curry at the right corner of the 8-meter and scoring to put Syracuse up three goals.

Thompson gets the start in net

Head coach Gary Gait pulled Bobby Gavin from Syracuse’s loss to Army after the first quarter. Gavin allowed five unanswered goals coming on seven shots on net, as his replacement, Thompson, finished out the game and made nine saves.

“We thought Bobby wasn’t seeing the ball like he was in the past games in the early quarter,” Gait said. “Why not mix it up when you have another very good goalie ready to go?”

Against a Hobart team that has the country’s ninth-best scoring offense, Thompson, in his first start of the season, held on for the win after making eight saves. His fourth save of the game was his best, denying Hobart’s Derrek Madonna from close range after he spun past three Syracuse defenders.

Midway through the third quarter, Gavin entered the game and made three saves and allowed four goals to hold on for the win.

Published on March 6, 2022 at 6:38 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu