Observations from No. 6 SU’s win over Utah: Close start, Thomson’s season-high

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For the second straight season, Maryland halted Syracuse from a 4-0 start. The Orange have yet to go to 4-0 under head coach Gary Gait, last reaching that record in 2020.

Syracuse had the chance to bounce back Wednesday with Utah traveling to the JMA Wireless Dome for a noon contest. And it did, rolling through the game with ease as Will Mark set a season-high 14 saves and Mason Kohn won 14-of-18 battles at the faceoff X. Joey Spallina finished with seven points, including four assists.

Here are some observations from No. 6 Syracuse’s (4-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 18-7 win over Utah (0-3, 0-0 Atlantic Sun):

Close start

The Orange aren’t known for their blistering starts to games these past few seasons and Wednesday’s beginning was no different. Despite Kohn winning the initial clamp, the Utes got on the board first after SU turned in an empty possession.

Minutes later, Utah’s Ryan Stines fell to the ground with one defender on him. Another slid over to add pressure. That free’d up Tyler Bradbury, who buried his attempt from 14 yards out.

Syracuse responded with back-to-back goals, starting with a strike from Jackson Birtwistle right at the crease. Spallina held the ball far on the left side of the field, waiting for Birtwistle to cut past his defender before tossing him the ball for his second goal of the year. Michael Leo notched the latter score, following suit from his litany of unassisted goals against the Terrapins, with a nifty spin dodge to put SU in front.

But Utah tied the game back up with Cody Hart beating a short-stick before firing. Then, after another three goals from the Orange, the Utes got back on the board. Stines backed down Jake Stevens on the right side of the field, elevating to sneak his attempt past Mark.

The score cut Syracuse’s lead to 5-3 with three minutes left in the first quarter. But Utah didn’t score again until 35 minutes later.

Kohn’s cooking

Kohn had his work cut out for him against Maryland’s Luke Wierman, struggling in his first bout with a top-tier faceoff specialist. He finished Saturday’s contest with a 44.4% win rate, which was 22.2% lower than his second-worst performance this season.

Against Utah’s multitude of faceoff options, including Tyler Kloeckl, Bryce Madden and Luca Pivetta, Kohn won the initial clamp in a variety of fashions. He twisted his body a full 180 degrees before securing the ball in the Orange’s defensive zone. He scooped it forward to catalyze a quick shot on goal. Or he forced Kloeckl to jump early for a faceoff violation.

Whatever way he chose, Kohn succeeded. He won 8-of-8 battles in the first quarter, with his only real mistake coming after he coughed up the ball while trying to secure possession with four minutes left in the period. Stines capitalized on it, scoring the Utes last goal of the first half.

Kohn’s first loss came midway through the second period. Utah came out empty on the other end, however, before Leo recorded his second goal four minutes later.

Thomson’s season-high

Syracuse’s loaded attack can look to anyone to have a good day, especially against the weak nonconference competition it has scheduled at the beginning of this year. Wednesday was dominated by sophomore Finn Thomson, who finished with a season-high four points against the Utes.

Thomson scored his first goal with a bit of trickery, successfully pulling off the hidden ball trick. It’s something the Orange do almost every game but they never take full advantage of it, until Thomson pulled it off.

Thomson worked with Owen Hiltz as a minute remained in the first quarter, faking the heave to Hiltz on the right side of the field. Thomson fired low from the center of the field while Hiltz jogged toward the cage with all eyes on him. The ball rolled through Christian Mulé’s legs, kickstarting a 10-0 run from the Orange.

Turnovers galore

While the Orange comfortably got out to a 10-3 halftime lead, they nearly tied the Utes 12 turnovers with 11 in the first half. Surprisingly, four of them came from Spallina, with three of those coming in the first quarter.

After Leo put the Orange in front 2-1, SU went empty on the ensuing possession with Luke Rhoa missing two shots. But it quickly got the ball back after Mulé caused a turnover, poking the ball out of Colin Lenskold’s stick. Thomson picked up the ball before handing it off to Spallina, who desperately threw the ball into traffic and diminished any momentum.

In the second quarter, Thomson turned the ball over from X after trying to make a pass over the cage which hit the turf instead. But he picked the ball up, lofting it to Spallina, who whipped in his first goal of the afternoon.

The Orange made up for that turnover, but they finished with 18 overall, their second-worst mark of the season.

Marky Mark

Quietly, Mark has put together another strong start to the 2024 season. The 2023 Tewaaraton Trophy Nominee kept the Orange close in the second half against the Terrapins, finishing with multiple acrobatic saves and five overall in the third quarter.

Against Utah, Mark had another strong outing, recording five saves in the second quarter. His first save of the period came after Spallina’s fourth turnover of the afternoon with Mark popping out an attempt from MJ McMahon out of the crease.

At the end of the third quarter, the Utes continued to try to break their scoring drought. Carson Moyer ripped an attempt, but Mark easily shuffled to his left for the save. The Utes reset their attack, giving it to Hart, who scored their second goal. Hart rocketed a deep attempt which Mark extended his stick out to snag for his 12th save.