The game was over five minutes in as Duke took control and ‘Cuse never got closer than three the rest of the way.
The Syracuse Orange’s trip down to Charlotte on Friday night for the first ACC Tournament in five years quickly turned into a perfect storm.
The Orange were coming off a bye, hadn’t played a game in 13 days, and had only played two games in the last 30 days. Their opponent, the Duke Blue Devils, were coming off a bad performance and loss at the hands of their rivals last weekend, and were looking to bounce back while simultaneously making up for the fact that they scored four goals the first time these two teams met back in March.
The two teams acted accordingly as the Blue Devils charged out of the gates and essentially ended the game in the opening five minutes. Duke scored five goals in the first 4:29 before ‘Cuse even possessed the ball once, winning the game’s first six face-offs.
They positively ambushed the Orange, who came out rusty and lacking the energy necessary for such a big matchup. And while they would find a few small bursts of competence as the game drew on, it proved to already be too late as a Duke team on a mission kept ‘Cuse at an arm’s length the rest of the night.
SU scored a pair of quick goals midway through the first, both by Jake Stevens, to bring it to their closest deficit, 5-2. That was incredibly short-lived, however, as Duke punched back with four goals to complete an overpoweringly dominant first quarter with nine goals and a 9-2 lead.
The Orange’s best stretch of the game came in the second quarter, which started with three straight ‘Cuse goals to make it 9-5. By the time Joey Spallina scored a man-up goal in the first minute of the third quarter, they had gone on a 5-2 run and made the score 11-7 early in the second half.
Despite everything, they were still with in potential touching distance at that point, but those thoughts were quickly eradicated by a 6-0 Duke run that put them up by 10 goals early in the fourth, 17-7. The Orange closed the game on a 6-1 run to make the final score a more respectable 18-13, but that score belies the nature of Duke’s dominance on this night.
Final from Charlotte.#HHH x #LikeNoOther pic.twitter.com/xZKFPGXHfa
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) May 4, 2024
The gap in energy and physicality between the two teams was palpably different, as ‘Cuse struggled to knock off the rust in their offensive execution and playmaking in the middle of the field.
There was also a gap in game plan, as the Duke offense came out in a different look that caused major problems for the ‘Cuse defense. The Blue Devils inverted a bunch of their attack and midfield players to place them and subsequently, their defenders, in different positions on the field.
Brennan O’Neill and Josh Zawada spent most of their time up top in traditional midfield positions, while midfielder (and former attacker) Andrew McAdorey mercilessly attacked from X. O’Neill was a runaway train on dodges across the top, and McAdorey had his defenders spinning around the crease.
The Blue Devils’ strategy confused and (forgive me) bedeviled the Orange, leading to a variety of defensive mismatches and a whole slew of off-ball confusion and miscommunication that led to lots of good looks for Duke. The result was 18 goals and a 45 percent shooting night (18-of-40).
Their plan worked to perfection, as McAdorey (5G, 1A), O’Neill (4G, 2A), Dyson Williams (4G) and Zawada (2G, 2A) dominated in accruing 15 goals and 20 points to earn their payback for the regular season.
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https://t.co/L089m6E9Ff#HHH x #LikeNoOther pic.twitter.com/go5R67FmZX— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) May 4, 2024
The Orange actually ended up winning the face-off battle for the game (18-14), but it was ultimately meaningless as Duke won the majority of the only FO’s that really mattered in that first quarter. They won the first six restarts on their way to 9-of-12 in the first, which helped them to a commanding 13-5 ground ball advantage in the opening frame. They’d go on to win the GB battle, 33-27, over SU.
For ‘Cuse, Joey Spallina (4G) and Jake Stevens (4G) led the way with four goals a piece. Sam English (1G, 2A) and Owen Hiltz (3A) each contributed three points and five of SU’s seven assists, while Luke Rhoa (2G) had a pair of fourth quarter goals to round out the multiple-point scorers on the day.
It was far from all his fault, but Will Mark (1SV) had his worst day in an Orange uniform as he surrendered eight goals while only making one save for a .111 save percentage before being taken out late in the first quarter for Jimmy McCool (6SV), who played the rest of the game and made six stops with a .375 save percentage.
The Orange will now have a brief wait to learn the rest of their postseason fate during Sunday’s selection show for the NCAA Tournament. The show is set to air at 9:30 PM on ESPN 2.