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Slow starts have troubled the Orange this season, even against weaker nonconference opponents. But just as fast as they fall behind in games, they come back.

Against Hobart, SU conceded two goals midway through the first quarter before going on a 7-0 run, prompted by Jack Fine’s wins in the faceoff circles and smart plays by individuals on the attack. Joey Spallina and Michael Leo each scored twice during that 13-minute span.

“We have confidence in these guys if we’re down a couple of goals,” head coach Gary Gait said. “We responded.”

Here’s a look into some of the plays from Syracuse’s first-half run against Hobart:

Behind the back

On the reset, Joey Spallina took Michael Christiansen one-on-one. Griffin Cook came over to set a pick, but Spallina opted for the other direction, looking for his first shot attempt of the afternoon.

Spallina is much smaller than Christiansen, and he will likely have a size disadvantage throughout the rest of the season against some of the ACC’s top defenders. Still, his low center of gravity aided him on this play, allowing him to throw his body into Christiansen and get to the spot he wanted.

Spallina said postgame he doesn’t need to know where the goal is for a behind-the-back shot. He’s practiced it hundreds of times and rips the ball fast and low each time. This time, he timed it to perfection, looking over Christiansen’s to check where goalie Elhanan Wilson was positioned in the cage before shooting.

Leo island

The litany of attacks on Syracuse’s squad means that opposing defenses need to pick their poison. Michael Leo said the Orange have paid attention to what defenses are giving them early in the game and made adjustments accordingly. For him, that meant taking full advantage of the short-stick matchup.

Leo easily found his first goal from 15 yards out. He waited until he was a few feet away from Hobart’s Michael Amoruso to make his move, cutting hard to his left. Finn Thomson halted his motion to set a pick, which Leo went around before shooting. He didn’t need the pick, but it freed up space and ensured that another slide wasn’t coming over to help on him before he shot.

Leo’s second goal was similar to the last one, again leaving him with the short-stick matchup. This time, he faced Kyle Driscoll on the right side. Leo could’ve used the space on the right side, but he ventured back to the middle, forcing the Statesmen defense into another decision.

They didn’t send a slide over, and Thomson took another defender out of the play. This set up a second left-handed opportunity, which Leo slotted into the top-left corner.

“If they’re not sliding, we’re going to go to the hole and shoot,” Leo said.

1, 2, 3

Gait said after he took over the team last year that his biggest goal was to increase the chemistry offensively, make it more similar to when he played. He somewhat achieved that with Brendan Curry and Tucker Dordevic leading the offense before he was forced to restart at the beginning of 2023. The chemistry has clicked faster this season as the Orange have strung together quick, efficient possessions with their young offense.

Leo kickstarted this play, using a pick from Thomson to get into open space. Hobart properly slid this time, which Leo noticed. He quickly retreated and flipped the ball to Thomson, who cut towards the middle.

Thomson could’ve taken the deep opportunity like Leo had done twice already but he kept his head up. He saw that Matt Turner wasn’t glued to Owen Hiltz, so he made a skip pass to his Canadian counterpart. Hiltz walked into his attempt, swiping up to direct the ball into the top-right corner. Wilson struggled to stop any shot that was high.

It all starts at the X

Spallina has been the go-to guy for Syracuse at the X, but John Cohen showed his strength at the position in the blowout win over St. Bonaventure. With a comfortable lead early against the Statesmen, Cohen was brought back into the rotation, going behind the cage at the start of the second quarter.

Like Spallina, Cohen pulled all the attention onto him, forcing the majority of Hobart’s defense to stare at him while he ventured to the X. Jack Grooms completely lost sight of Spallina while focusing on Cohen, leaving him wide open on the left side.

Cohen immediately located the wide-open Spallina, airing the ball to the side of his defender to set up the score. This play, in which someone goes to one side behind the cage before passing to the opposite side, has been lethal for Syracuse this season and could work against No. 3 Notre Dame this weekend.

Published on March 28, 2023 at 9:56 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu