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Coming off its worst season in program history in 2022, Syracuse welcomed Vermont to the JMA Wireless Dome for its 2023 season opener in just the second-ever meeting between the sides. The Catamounts won the 2022 America East Tournament, falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Joey Spallina made his highly anticipated debut for Syracuse as well as Will Mark in goal, a position Syracuse struggled in a season ago. Both sides had several shot opportunities in the opening period, combining for 17, but only one Vermont goal by Derek Marsilio would get in the net. The Orange used a 4-0 second quarter to develop a three-goal halftime lead. But the Catamounts dominated in the third to tie the score at five apiece.

Owen Hiltz scored midway through the fourth quarter that gave Syracuse a 7-5 lead. That lead would remain for the remainder of the period as Syracuse (1-0) picked up a win in the first game of Gary Gait’s second season in charge.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s 7-5 win over Vermont (0-1)

Low-scoring affair

In the first period, the Orange couldn’t find the net off its initial seven shots. Spallina was called for a crease violation after a diving shot, Vermont goalie Matt Shaffer made a few saves and a couple of attempts just went wide of the net. The Catamounts could only net one goal as Marsilio worked along the left side goal, beating Brandon Aviles to slip the ball into the goal.

However, within the first four minutes of the second quarter, Syracuse scored three goals. After Mark saved Brock Haley’s shot, the Orange quickly cleared, culminating in a Saam Olexo goal in the upper right of the net. Then, Alex Simmons found Jackson Birtwistle for the extra-man goal and Finn Thomson added another unassisted goal.

The Orange held the Catamounts scoreless in the second period, conceding just four shots. Thomson possessed the ball on the left side of the offensive zone, dishing out a behind the back pass for a cutting Simmons. Simmons scored as he approached the left side of the crease, to put SU up 4-1 going into halftime.

The third quarter would be somewhat a mirror image of the second as the Catamounts scored four goals in the period, while the Orange were held scoreless. David Closterman started his dodge from behind the goal and found a wide-open Haley for an easy goal that gave them a temporary advantage.

Spallina, Mark’s debuts

Spallina, the nation’s top recruit and the future of the No. 22 jersey, was held scoreless in the first half. His seven shots were the most of any Syracuse player in the first 30 minutes.

On his first scoring attempt, Spallina used a spin move to get past his defender, but as he approached the goal, he landed inside the crease on his shot, turning the ball back over on the Catamounts. He was close several times, but just couldn’t get past Shaffer. Standing at X, he found a cutting Vinnie Trujillo, whose shot was also saved by Shaffer.

Spallina eventually scored his first career goal, celebrating emphatically. He started at X. Using a screen, he wrapped around the offensive zone and scored on a low-driven shot. Spallina finished the contest notching just one goal on 15 shots.

Mark, who transferred from Long Island after being named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons, limited the Catamounts to just one first-half goal and had six saves. He saved multiple shots by Haley, who was Vermont’s spark on offense. And in the fourth quarter, as the Catamounts tried to cut into the deficit late, Mark added another key save, one of 13 on the night.

Just 36 seconds into the third quarter, Vermont ended its scoring drought that stretched back into the first quarter. Closterman’s defender slipped, allowing him to begin cutting toward goal. Hayden Fruhling dished a simple pass and Closterman scored past Mark.

Finn Thomson’s all-around game

In the fourth quarter, Syracuse regained the lead after Thomson juked Stone Jacobs on his dodge from the left side. Sitting right near the crease was Birtwistle, who scored an easy goal to give Syracuse a 6-5 lead. Then, on Spallina’s first career goal, Thomson set a screen for Spallina that gave him enough room on his dodge to slip in the shot.

Thomson added an unassisted goal in the second quarter, part of the scoring run to create a three-goal halftime lead. Thomson dished a behind-the-back pass to Simmons, too, that allowed Simmons to attack the goal and score. On Saturday, Thomson finished with three points on one goal and two assists. He also added a ground ball as well.

Sloppy turnovers

Spallina possessed the ball at X, waiting for a cutter toward goal. But, two separate runs from a different direction to the same spot in front of goal resulted in the Syracuse players tripping over themselves with one falling in the crease. The Catamounts took advantage of the crease violation as Jonas Hunter scored, starting at X to give Vermont two unanswered midway through the third quarter.

Then, with the score leveled at four each, a pass intended for Hiltz trickled out of bounds. Vermont had similar turnovers with passes misconnecting, coughing the ball right back to Syracuse. Some turnovers were forced as both sides constantly checked the ball out of the stick. On Saturday, the teams combined for 39 turnovers, 19 of which were caused.

Published on February 4, 2023 at 3:34 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini