The Syracuse Men’s lacrosse team faced off against Duke on Sunday the 5th at home in the JMA Dome. It was a tight match-up the whole game which ultimately ended with the Blue Devils beating Syracuse in Overtime 14-13.
From the start, both teams showed up with lots of activity, going back and forth putting up points in the other team’s goal. Even with a 15 point let up, Syracuse’s Will Mark had an astounding 27 saves throughout the whole game which kept Syracuse in Match. This game placed Mark in top 10 for all-time-saves.
“It’s pretty cool to get recognized for that, It makes me proud of all the hours I put in.” said Mark.
The Orange put up 8 points in the first half which gave them the leading edge over duke coming into the second hand.
“We had started off really strong but just had trouble keeping that momentum,” said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait.
And a strong start it was, with grad student Cole Kirst putting up four points to start the lead for his team. Alongside him was Sophomore Jackson Birtwistle who secured a hat-rick to end off the first half.
It’s no surprise that the Blue devils put up the numbers that they did with sharp shooters like Junior attack Brennan O’Neill who leads the country in scoring, with 28 points, Senior attack Dyson Williams who follows O’neill close behind with 19 goals this season, and sophomore attack Andrew McAdorey with 22 point. These three players accounted for 70 of Duke’s 121 points so far this season. Altogether they help form the number 7 offense in division 1 lacrosse across the entire country. With this deadly combo on the field, the Blue Devils came back strong in the second half to even the odds and give Syracuse a run for their money.
It was a tough match-up for both teams. Everyone showed up with their A-Game and it resulted in a well-played game. Syracuse came up short at the end of an intense overtime period, but it was a well-fought battle and Duke recovered gracefully.
“It’s a tough loss you know, there is a lot to work on and improve but we showed up and there are definitely worse ways to lose,” Gait said.
Syracuse will be facing Johns Hopkins at home on March 11th and are looking to make a comeback against one of the better teams in the division. It will be no easy task, but this crew of Orange men are no force to be reckoned with.