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After a blitzing start in which Syracuse scored eight goals in the first 16 minutes of play, the Orange sat comfortably. Joey Spallina’s fourth goal — one of his career-high seven — just a minute into the second quarter put SU up 8-1. But over the next 20 minutes, Syracuse only mustered one goal, and High Point stormed back. Brayden Mayea’s behind-the-back finish cut HPU’s deficit to 9-8 with 9:19 left in the third quarter.

The Orange needed someone to step up. The offense was reeling, with no goals in its last nine shot attempts. That’s when Syracuse looked to one of the most experienced players on the team: Owen Hiltz.

Spallina controlled the ball from X, waiting for cutters to pop open. Hiltz was held up by Corey O’Connor, but he eventually evaded him. Spallina fed Hiltz, who after a couple of fakes scored past Zack Overend in net. Three minutes later, Hiltz added two more in 33 seconds to put Syracuse up 12-9 and create a cushion it desperately needed.

After a silent offensive second quarter, Hiltz provided the Orange with a spark in the third. Hiltz’s hat trick spearheaded a run of seven straight goals for No. 7 Syracuse (5-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) as it took down High Point (4-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10) 19-13. Hiltz took eight shots against the Panthers, with all three on target finding the back of the net. While Spallina stole the show with his career night, Hiltz’s goals ignited a crucial second-half run.

Although the red-shirt junior missed all of 2022 with an injury, Hiltz registered 52 goals and 48 assists in his other two seasons. Outside of Jackson Birtwistle and Christian Mulé, Hiltz is the lone upperclassman in SU’s attack. When Syracuse was reeling after High Point ripped off three goals in two minutes, Hiltz was the one to step up.

Hiltz’s twister finish put Syracuse back up two goals and the Orange then received a man-up advantage when HPU’s Henry Mudlaff was called for slashing. From that point, Jake Stevens initiated SU’s offense and dished to Hiltz. John Adams scrambled to close Hiltz down, but he evaded the defender with a swim dodge before getting his hands free and putting Syracuse up 11-8 with 5:35 left in the third quarter.

Against Manhattan and Colgate, Hiltz recorded back-to-back six-point games but has since been held in check in the last three. Just four points against Maryland, Utah and Army left Hiltz in a quiet spell, which he broke Saturday.

“I thought Owen played well today. He scored a couple of big ones when we needed it. But he moved the ball really well. He dodged hard and had a solid game for us,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said postgame.

Although Hiltz’s points totals haven’t been as high as in the past, he’s come up with clutch moments in Syracuse’s two biggest games against Maryland and Army. Down one with just over a minute to go against Maryland, Hiltz found a cutting Mulé to send the game to overtime. Against Army, Hiltz’s lone point came when he ripped a lefty shot to tie the game at 13 with 2:32 left in regulation.

Although he started slow on Saturday, Hiltz grew into a rhythm. Less than a minute after his second goal, Hiltz drew a short stick while operating from the right wing. A quick faint upfield before bursting inside gave Hiltz space, but the angle got tighter with every step. One-on-one with Overend, the attack somehow squeezed the ball into the top left corner to complete his hat trick.

For Hiltz, he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to create offense for himself. He explained his goals came within the flow of the offense and when he got the right matchups he was aggressive.

“I was just sticking to the game plan the whole time and let the ball come to me,” Hiltz said.

Although Hiltz’s third goal was his last, it was his offense that regenerated the spark in Syracuse’s offense. Spallina tallied his fifth goal 32 seconds after Hiltz’s third as SU led 13-8 with 4:29 left.

A scramble for the ensuing faceoff was picked up by Stevens. Holding off multiple defenders as he drove upfield, he dished a behind-the-back pass to Spallina who rifled home another goal as SU led 14-8. After going quiet for nearly the entire second quarter and some of the third quarter, Syracuse’s offense found its spark again.

“They responded, guys like (Hiltz), (Spallina) stepped in and made some big plays to start us on another round,” Gait said.

Spallina’s seventh goal was followed by John Mullen’s first career goal — Mullen’s goal was Syracuse’s third in 46 seconds and it wasn’t done there. Birtwistle made it seven in a row for the Orange including six within two minutes. But it all started with Hiltz. When Syracuse needed a play he showed up and the rest of the offense followed suit.

“You can’t give a team like that possession after possession after possession… When you give those guys the opportunity to get rolling, they’re excellent,” High Point head coach Jon Torpey said.

Published on March 2, 2024 at 11:00 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22