Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

If Syracuse was looking for a statement victory, it surely fulfilled that and ultimately exceeded it. An all-out offensive performance against a Holy Cross side that has historically struggled saw the Orange score their most goals in a single game since April 6, 1994. Four players recorded at least three goals in the first game of the Gary Gait head coaching era as Syracuse (1-0) cruised to a blowout 28-5 win over Holy Cross (0-2).

Here are some observations from the Orange’s opening win against the Crusaders.

Syracuse gets it going early, doesn’t let up

When Syracuse was on the attack, the chances of it finding the back of the net were likely, at least in the first nine minutes. The Orange were up by seven goals at that point and were all over the Crusaders from then on.

Pete Fiorini scored the first Gait-era goal just under three minutes in, and on the next two possessions, Brendan Curry scored two high-rising shots from roughly 10 yards out to put Syracuse up 3-0. Curry scored his hat trick from the left side of the 8-meter within the game’s first ten minutes, becoming the first of four players to reach that mark.

Curry’s third of the game was Syracuse’s sixth and it would go on to score four more unanswered goals. Then Owen Seebold got going, and he would score a team-high five goals. Tucker Dordevic matched that, also scoring five in his newly appointed role in Syracuse’s attack, scoring his fourth goal on a behind-the-back shot as he charged in along the left side. Syracuse finished with 13 unique goal scorers and 17 different point scorers.

Berkman steps up in place of Hiltz

In the wake of Owen Hiltz’s upper body injury, who is expected to miss significant time, Mikey Berkman made his first career start in his place. The redshirt sophomore had played in just three games prior to this season after being sidelined due to injury.

But Berkman was a key part of Syracuse’s early offensive outpour, where he was one of four Syracuse players with a hat trick at halftime. Berkman’s main role was to control play behind the net, which was where he stood when assisting the Orange’s first goal of the game, as he found an onrushing Fiorini with a wide-open close-range shot.

Less than six minutes later, Fiorini found Berkman for his first of the game, as he stood to the right of the goal and scored Syracuse’s seventh unanswered goal of the game. In the second quarter, Berkman scored his second on an easy underhand shot from the left side of the 8-meter on a feed from Curry. He completed his hat trick scoring Syracuse’s 19th goal of the game with just under three minutes left in the second quarter.

Faceoff success

Gait made it clear earlier in the week that Jakob Phaup was once again going to be Syracuse’s go-to faceoff man. Last season, Phaup finished 23rd nationally in faceoff percentage at 56.7%. Still, Gait decided to “ride” Phaup and monitor his performance weekly.

“Jakob’s our guy right now, and I think more than not, we’ll ride him and see how he does,” Gait said.

Phaup lost just three first-half faceoffs against Holy Cross, and recorded a team-high nine ground balls. He began the game a perfect 8-for-8 on faceoffs in the first quarter and won seven more in the second quarter before being replaced by Jack Savage with over eight and a half minutes to play.

Savage only played in three games last year winning a combined eight faceoffs on 24 draws. On Saturday, he matched that total off the opening draw of the fourth quarter. But it was on his third faceoff win where he also scored his first collegiate goal. Savage outmuscled Holy Cross’ Connor DePiero off the draw and sprinted toward the loose ground ball. But he kept sprinting into the Crusaders’ end with no defenders in sight. Savage continued running into the zone for a shot in the top left corner that put Syracuse up 19 points.

Gavin gets the start

Gait still hadn’t made up his mind about who would start the opener, but all the signs pointed to sophomore Bobby Gavin to stand between the pipes. The UVA transfer made two starts and eight total appearances for the reigning national champions. But he filled in on an inconsistent Orange defensive unit that allowed at least 20 goals for the first time since 1977.

Today, Gavin allowed three goals and faced 10 total shots, but the saves he made weren’t gimmes by all means. Gavin was tested multiple times from close range, which was ultimately where the Crusaders found the back of the next, but he was still able to quickly get low and make crucial stops.

His first save in an Orange uniform came just over two minutes in, denying a close-range shot at the top of the 8-meter from Holy Cross’ Cole Kratovil. It set up a clear that quickly made its way to Seebold for his first of the game — Syracuse’s fourth. Gavin made a similar save in the second quarter, denying Kilian Morrissey. Right after the shot, SU went shorthanded, and Gavin’s aggressiveness chasing balls outside the crease allowed the Orange to successfully kill it off and launch it forward to Griffin Cook. Cook set up Dordevic for a low-bouncing shot that put Syracuse up 16-2.

Gavin was taken out at halftime for Harrison Thompson who made two saves on four shots.

Published on February 12, 2022 at 2:55 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu