Three minutes into the game, White knocked the stick out of Brenneman’s hand as he raced toward the Syracuse net. Jovan Miller scooped up the loose ball and threw it ahead to Chris Daniello. White filled the lane and registered his third goal of the season with a laser that sailed past the big body of Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers. 

 

White’s goal sparked a five-goal first quarter for the Orange that set the tone for the rest of the game. SU junior attack Stephen Keogh also had two goals through the first 15 minutes. 

 

‘We got off to a very good start,’ SU head coach John Desko said in a phone interview after the game. ‘Five goals in the first gave us a good cushion that was important.’

 

In front of a sold-out crowd of 4,063 at Arlotta Stadium, that scorching start led No. 2 Syracuse (12-1, 5-0 Big East) to a 12-6 victory over the Fighting Irish (7-6, 2-4 Big East). The win was the Orange’s 10th consecutive victory. 

 

Heading into the regular-season finale at St. John’s, the Orange has secured at least a share of the first Big East lacrosse title in the conference’s inaugural season, and it can win the title outright with a victory over the Red Storm next Saturday.

 

Desko was pleased to see an all-around game from his squad. In a game in which Desko knew the Fighting Irish would come out focused with their playoff hopes on the line, the Orange’s head coach was impressed with how his team came out of the gate.

 

‘Our offense got off to a very good start and our defense was consistent all game,’ Desko said. ‘We knew it would be a playoff atmosphere. We have a great group who played very well and was able to double up on them.’

 

Led by Keogh’s four goals and junior midfielder Josh Amidon’s two goals, the Syracuse depth was on full display. Ten different players registered at least one point. 

 

It was Keogh’s first multiple-goal game since April 3 against Albany. Desko was quick to point out Keogh’s struggles have come as a result of other teams keying on him. Though the statistics do not show it, Desko said, the junior attack has still helped the Orange despite the slight downturn in goal production.

 

‘Against Rutgers and Providence, he was very good off the ball,’ Desko said. ‘Against Rutgers, he set picks for three goals. He has done other things very well when teams have tried to shut him down.’  

 

Through the first 15 minutes of action, the Orange offense looked the part of a team that was ready to go after being bottled up against the Friars a week before. SU shot out of the gate and scored five unanswered goals in the first quarter.

 

That quick start was important because the Irish did not go away. Thanks to seven SU penalties and a Notre Dame defense that held the Orange scoreless for more than 24 minutes over the second and third quarters, the Irish managed to cut the lead to 5-4 after Brenneman’s only goal of the game with 9:45 to play in the third.

 

But Amidon scored just more than one minute later to give the Orange some momentum back.

 

‘In the third, they had a man-up to start, and they had the ball for the first five minutes,’ Desko said. ‘Then we got the ball back and scored, and that really got us going. We played much more relaxed after that.’

 

The Irish would cut the lead to two to start the fourth. But Syracuse ended the game just how it started. SU outscored the Irish 4-0 through the final frame. In the end, the Orange captured another tough, primetime victory on the road.

 

‘It has not been easy this year,’ Desko said. ‘We have had a lot of night road games. This group has stayed very focused.’