Inconsistent defense, faceoff troubles cause SU loss to No. 4 UVA

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Landon Clary and Nick Caccamo double-teamed Griffin Schutz to complete Syracuse’s best defensive play of the afternoon. Clary propped the ball out of Schutz’s stick and Brandon Aviles picked it up, ready to face Virginia’s daunting 10-man ride in the second quarter.

But the Cavaliers put the brakes on their aggressive set and Aviles, with no pressure, lofted the ball to Caden Kol.

All Kol had to do was secure the ball and take a few more strides until the midfield line. He couldn’t get his stick to it so he tried to stop the bouncing ball with his thighs. It rolled through his legs and out of bounds, presenting UVA another offensive opportunity. Payton Cormier ripped the ball into the back of the net four seconds later.

“We made too many mistakes to fight our way back into the game,” head coach Gary Gait said postgame. “We turned the ball over and didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we got.”

When the Orange made a good defensive play, they turned the ball over. When they scored, Jack Fine couldn’t win his battle at the faceoff X. And even when Johnny Richiusa won his faceoffs, the offense couldn’t cash in on the other end. No. 12 Syracuse (8-6, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) was outmatched in all three units, making numerous mistakes throughout its 19-12 loss to No. 4 Virginia (9-3, 3-2 ACC).

“You have to play a perfect game to beat a top-3 team and unfortunately we didn’t get it done today,” Gait said.

Syracuse’s 20-12 loss to Notre Dame on April 1 was no joke. An upset was achievable for the Orange but a nine-goal fourth quarter from the Fighting Irish amounted to the worst defensive performance of SU’s season. It was a concerning image that Syracuse couldn’t compete against the best.

Still, SU came back over the next two games, upsetting Princeton and North Carolina. Against Virginia, who was coming off losses in two of its last three matchups, the Orange had a chance to carry over their momentum. But their achilles heel, the faceoff unit, immediately came to the forefront.

Fine started at the faceoff X for the second straight game, slated against UVA’s Petey LaSalla. He lost the first opportunity on the faceoff violation and would only win one of the next four, leaving Syracuse’s defense on constant watch.

“We didn’t get good, quality possessions,” Gait said.

Like SU, UVA routinely starts its offense from X with Connor Shellenberger as its consistent quarterback. Two minutes in, Shellenberger held possession at X after a wide attempt from Cormier. Shellenberger took off to the left side of the cage with his eyes up. He located Schutz in the middle of the field, who ripped the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards out.

Less than a minute later, Thomas McConvey emerged wide open from point-blank range but Will Mark was able to get his body in front of the shot attempt. McConvey picked up his own miss and UVA reset its offense.

Peter Garno dodged inside, forcing two SU defenders to slide toward him. Xander Dickson was left unguarded at the doorstep, tossing the ball low and into the back of the net before two defenders finally checked him to the ground.

Virginia’s attack, which averages a nation-leading 11.82 assists per game, continued to score from stringing together quick passes near the crease. But its 7-2 first quarter run featured some individual scores as well, continuing to take advantage of an unrested SU defense. With nine minutes left in the first quarter, McConvey spun away from his defender and launched the all into the back of the net. Garno roamed at X 80 seconds later, sprinting into the front of the cage before turning around to score and give UVA a 4-0 lead.

Syracuse only registered six shots throughout the opening period, finally getting on the board after Cole Kirst scored with three minutes left in the first quarter. Richiusa had replaced Fine by that point, finding much more success against LaSalla. The Orange cashed in on a Richiusa faceoff win with 1:01 left in the first quarter via a Michael Leo strike from an Owen Hiltz skip pass.

The Orange made the most of more possessions in the second quarter with Alex Simmons as the main weapon. He stationed himself on the left side of the field two minutes in, waiting patiently as the ball fell to the turf on the other end. Kirst picked it up and lofted to Simmons, who stepped down and launched the ball into the back of the net.

Midway through the second quarter, Simmons went back to the same spot, this time with two defenders close to him. He worked with Finn Thomson to get a little separation from both defenders, catching a high pass before turning around and whipping it low. Hiltz sent another skip pass to Simmons on a man-up opportunity a minute later, which resulted in an easy long-range score and cut the Cavaliers lead to four.

But Syracuse couldn’t get much closer than that. After Simmons’ hat trick goal, SU turned the ball over three times before the end of the second quarter, finishing with 11 turnovers in the first half itself. And on the other end, the Cavaliers continued to get production from Cormier and Dickson.
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“Any time we got a run going we made a mistake,” Gait said. “We turned the ball over, forced a bad shot or they just made a good save.”

Dickson scored his fourth and fifth goals of the afternoon at the start of the second half, making the most of his one-on-one opportunities. He ran down the left side 40 seconds into the third quarter, spinning back to his right to shake off Aviles before firing the ball into the top of the net.

Aviles glued himself to Dickson three minutes later, barraging his stick onto him down the left side. But Dickson moved back and forth and eventually Aviles lost a step, slipping before he could get back in front of Dickson. With space, Dickson launched the ball over Mark’s shoulder to give UVA a 13-5 lead.

Kirst kickstarted a three-goal run towards the end of the third quarter, which was capped off from a goal by Hiltz. Joey Spallina, who finished with zero goals on five shots, dished it out to Hiltz. It was the only time Spallina was able to make an impact from the X, completely taken out of the game by UVA’s defense.

Jackson Birtwistle scored on a man-up opportunity with 10 minutes left in the game, cutting the Cavaliers lead to five. But LaSalla defeated Fine at the faceoff X again, and Garno launched an attempt wide.

Dickson reset the offense at X, standing still until Syracuse’s defense reacted. Mark bit, leaving the crease and chasing Dickson on the left side.

Immediately, Dickson retreated and went the other way, getting in front of the net before Mark could come back. Mark jumped to try and stop the ball but he only scraped it with his ankle as Dickson tapped in his sixth goal.