Joey Spallina’s 11-point showcase leads Syracuse past Colgate in top-20 matchup
Joey Spallina’s 11-point showcase leads Syracuse past Colgate
Orange outgun Raiders 13-9, setting the stage for a tough top-10 stretch.
No. 20 Colgate and No. 10 Syracuse entered Saturday’s matchup at the JMA Wireless as two of the best offenses in the country. Syracuse showed that early in the game as they slammed the door on the Raiders.
Despite the Raiders showing life in the second half, the Orange secured the 13-9 win. The victory extended the Orange’s win streak to four.
Syracuse got out to a hot start as attacker Owen Hiltz scored a tone-setting goal five seconds into the contest. Hiltz’s domination continued down the stretch, notching a hat trick before the first quarter had even come to a close. His third goal collected both his 200th career point, while attack Joey Spallina got the assist to cross the 200-point threshold as well.
“It was exciting to see Owen and Joey get 200 points on the same play,” Syracuse men’s lacrosse head coach Gary Gait said.
Spallina himself served as a spark plug for the Orange. The junior held six points at the half, notching four assists and two goals. He contributed to a Syracuse offense that Colgate simply couldn’t contain, notching the other on a shorthanded goal, which left the score at 8-2 at halftime.
Colgate couldn’t score on a plethora of chances. The Raiders scored only two goals on 15 shots on net. Despite this, Syracuse goalkeeper Jimmy McCool stood strong, only letting those two goals at the half with 13 saves, only slipping toward the end of the game, but still playing excellently the whole way through.
“He had 10 saves at the half,” Colgate men’s lacrosse head coach Matt Karweck said. “We were putting pressure on him and he just kept on making great saves.”
The Raiders made up ground in the second half, outshooting the Orange in the third quarter 6-5. Colgate cut the lead to four multiple times in the quarter. Syracuse still kept up as he served as the driver seat, his goals and assists keeping SU treading water in a quarter they struggled offensively.
The Orange offense treaded water, staying ahead in most statistics, but not converting on scoring chances.
Colgate kept its pursuit strong in the fourth, pulling within two, but it wasn’t enough as Spallina carried the Orange late, assisting a Trey Deere goal, followed by putting the nail in the coffin for the Raiders with a goal following a beautiful spin move.
Spallina entered elite company as he collected 5 goals and 6 assists, totaling 11 points on the day. It’s the most points scored by a Syracuse player since Spallina in a matchup against Princeton in 2022. Before then, the most points was a 13 point performance versus Virginia by Syracuse legend Casey Powell in 1997.
“I only really care about winning,” Spallina said. “I could care less about what Instagram user 145 has to say.”
With this defeat, Colgate loses their second straight and falls to 5-4. It will host Navy and Army the next two weekends.
The Orange improve to 7-2 as they prepare for the toughest stretch of the season. After facing Virginia they play against four top-10 teams in the country to close out the regular season.