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After halting a four-game losing streak at Hofstra a week ago, Syracuse breezed by St. Bonaventure for its second straight win. The Orange dominated in every facet of the game, reaching 20 goals with 10 minutes left to spare.

Joey Spallina finished with two goals and four assists, his third straight game with six or more goals. Will Mark finished with eight saves and Johnny Richiusa won 58.8% of his faceoffs.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (5-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) 22-6 win over St. Bonaventure (1-7, 1-2 Atlantic 10 Conference):

Easy going in the circle

The Orange easily defeated Hofstra last week, but their faceoff unit struggled. They won just 9-of-28 faceoffs, only coming out on top because of the Pride’s inability to capitalize offensively. Richiusa split time with Jack Fine in the faceoff circle and Syracuse implemented the same strategy against the Bonnies. St. Bonaventure also had a committed approach with Quinn Nolan and Aidan Smith.

Richiusa and Fine both specialize in winning the initial clamp, which hasn’t been an easy task versus talented faceoff specialists from nonconference teams. But against St. Bonaventure, Richiusa easily won the initial clamp to begin the second quarter and once more after Owen Hiltz scored in the final five minutes of the first half.

Richiusa continued to dominate, leaving Fine on the sidelines until the final two minutes of the third quarter. He won the tough battles, too, rotating his body 180-degrees while fighting Smith for the initial clamp. Richiusa finally propped the ball up, collecting the ground ball himself to kickstart the offense. Five straight wins by Richiusa led to five goals in roughly three minutes. He finished with his best faceoff percentage of the season.

Fine was back in the faceoff circle after the Bonnies scored for the first time in 21 minutes, quickly winning the initial clamp. He took off down the middle of the field, keeping his stick high before bouncing the ball into the back of the net.

Sound defense

Syracuse’s defense was uncharacteristic in the first half against the Pride, giving up four goals in the first quarter alone. But it didn’t let the Bonnies get into any rhythm offensively, holding them to three scores in the first half. That was the least amount of goals SU has allowed in the first half since holding Holy Cross to two scores over a month ago.

St. Bonaventure couldn’t even score when it was wide open. After Kirst hammered the ball off the post, the Bonnies got past a tough ride by the Orange as David Steria picked up a ground ball to complete the clear. Brady Wijbrandts was left wide open in the middle of the field, 10 yards away from the cage.

Wijbrandts whipped the ball to the right of Mark, who bent down and perfectly deflected the ball off his stick. He trapped the ball after it was suspended briefly in the air, leading to a goal by Luke Rhoa on the other end.

The Orange did a good job of preventing the Bonnies from getting near the crease as well. At the start of the second half, Jake Rosa got past a few SU defenders in the middle of the field. But he was quickly barraged by Caden Kol from behind, who slapped the ball onto the turf.

SU turned defense into offense too. Mark made an easy save on a rip from Kyle Pepper, immediately launching the ball to Jake Murphy, who was running a go-route down the middle of the field. Murphy dished it to Cole Kirst, who held the ball while Murphy cleared out. Max Rosa flew into Murphy’s spot and scored off an assist from Kirst.

X marks the spot

Spallina’s return to Long Island was successful, mostly because of his ability to freely initiate the offense from the X. St. Bonaventure couldn’t stop him from getting back there either, which would hurt it late in the first period.

Michael Leo wound up from the middle of the field, firing low from 10 yards out. His shot bounced off the right pipe and Hiltz made the easy pick-up before dumping it off to Spallina at the X. Spallina located Finn Thomson wide-open at the crease on the other side, leading an easy tap-in goal.

Spallina went back to his usual spot a minute later, this time followed by Griffin Cook. Cook set a pick for Spallina but he couldn’t get a clean look. The Orange reset their offense, this time giving possession to Cook at the X. Spallina screened Cook’s defender, allowing Cook to curl toward the right side of the crease. He kept his stick high, faked once and bounced the ball into the back of the net.

Cook continued to work alongside Spallina, venturing behind the cage less than three minutes into the second quarter. The Bonnies focused on Spallina, leaving Cook completely open on the left side of the cage. Once he realized he was unmarked, Cook jogged to the front of the goal and scored low again.

Owen’s open

Hiltz hasn’t missed a step since returning to the field after being sidelined for all of last season. He may not be the Orange’s top goal-scorer but he’s been the most consistent with at least three points in Syracuse’s last seven games.

Hiltz missed two opportunities in the first quarter, his second shot rattled off the post. But he made the most out of his looks in the second quarter, receiving the ball on the right side of the field. He dodged to his left, traveling horizontally into the middle of the field. With no one near him, he briefly pump-faked before launching an underhand attempt into the back of the net.

His second goal came off a pass from Spallina, who was stationed behind the cage. Hiltz walked towards Spallina, lifting his stick to call for the ball. Hiltz caught the ball and immediately ripped it, perfectly dragging his left foot on the turf in the process. He finished with three goals and an assist.

Published on March 21, 2023 at 8:17 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu