2nd-Ranked Syracuse Starts Season Strong with 24-5 Win Over Jacksonville
On a freezing day outside with the wind chills in the single digits, the Dome was a hospitable place to watch a game. Unless you were Jacksonville. The Orange jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back.
Jacksonville is no slouch program. Led by Head Coach John Galloway, one of the most respected young coaches in the game, the Dolphins are known for being well-prepared when the season starts. They took out highly-ranked Duke in 2022 and 2023 in the second game of each season. Last year they finished their season 13-5, falling to a strong Utah team in the ASUN Championship game. Jacksonville doesn’t have much time to lick their wounds. They’ve got (guess who?) Duke making the trip to Florida to keep their rivalry going.
Some more about Coach Galloway. This marked the first time he’s brought his Dolphins to the Dome, a place where he used to play his home games. Coach Galloway was a DOMINANT goalie for the Orange. He was a two-time 1st Team All-American (the only goalie in Orange history to do so) while winning the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award as the nation’s top goalie in 2010 and 2011 and being named a Tewaaraton Finalist. He is the only goalie in NCAA history to win national championships as a starter in his freshman and sophomore years.
As a pro, he was named Rookie of the Year for the MLL and twice earned Goaltender of the Year in 2014 and 2016. He helped take his Rochester Rattlers to three Championships (2014, 2015 and 2018). He then played for the PLL’s Chrome from 2019-2021 before hanging up the chest pad to focus his lacrosse energies on coaching. He was also captain of the gold-medal winning Team USA in the 2018 World Championships. Galloway grew up 15 minutes away from the Dome, tearing it up as a West Genesee Wildcat in Camillus during his high school years. As fellow Wildcat Alumni, Coach Galloway and I take a lot of pride in our heritage. And I take a lot of pride in having played in the Program that helped form a man like him.
So, that whole bit gives some context about Jacksonville and the captain of their ship. But, for the majority of Saturday, the story was all about 'Cuse. They’ve had a LOT of hype coming into the season. And whatever can be gleaned from a game on February 1st for a sport that will crown it’s champion on Memorial Day, it’s fair to say that Syracuse delivered on that hype as best they could in front of 5K fans in attendance to see what Coach Gait’s boys could do. At half-time, it was 11-2. Then the Orange logged a 10-0 third quarter, taking them into the 4th with a 21-2 lead. Luckily, Syracuse showed some restraint and pumped the brakes while Jacksonville made some nice plays of their own to see the 4th quarter yield a 3-3 score.
Syracuse’s offense had a field day. Michael Leo led the way with 4 goals and an assist. Luke Rhoa had 3 goals to join Mike on the leaderboard from the midfield position. Then it was the attack racking up the points with Joey Spallina (3G, 2A), Owen Hiltz (2G, 2A), Trey Deere (2G, 2A), Finn Thomson (2G, 1A) and Jackson Birtwistle (2G) combining for 11 of the 24 goals. Captain Sam English chipped in another 2 goals from the midfield while also playing solidly on the defensive end and between the lines.
The Syracuse defense, led by captain Billy Dwan, was swarming and unrelenting, accounting for 21 Jacksonville turnovers. Defensive middie, Carter Rice, was a one-man clear. Jimmy McCool got his first start in the goal for the Orange, making 9 saves and giving up just 2 goals through three quarters. Michaol Ippoliti took over it the 4th quarter and registered 2 saves and 3 goals against. John Mullen led the Orange at the face-off X, winning 14 of 22.
Up next for the Orange is another Dome game on Friday (2/7) against the Vermont Catamounts at 6 PM followed by another home game on Monday (2/10) at 5 PM against the 17th-ranked Towson Tigers.
