Voigt’s six goals help SU men’s LAX take down Albany
Voigt's six goals help SU men's LAX take down Albany
After suffering a loss against Albany almost a year ago to the day, No. 20 Syracuse took down the No. 15 Great Danes in the Carrier Dome this evening 13-5.
After losing their first game of the season to Colgate and starting midfielder sophomore Tucker Dordevic to injury for the rest of the season, the Orange had nothing to lose and everything to gain. An electric start boosted a tremendous effort as Syracuse (1-1) defeated the Great Danes (0-1).
The player drawing the most attention coming into this game was Albany’s Tehoka Nanticoke. The sophomore attacker from Six Nations, Canada, was the number one recruit in the country last season and played a big role in the Great Danes’ first ever Final Four run with 82 points.
But it wasn’t Nanticoke who would earn the headlines tonight. It was Syracuse senior Bradley Voigt, who was shut out against Colgate and came into the game with just 19 career goals. He had the game of his life, accounting for half of SU’s eight first half goals and picking up a career-best six total for the day.
Voigt said that his performance against Colgate was one that he wanted to forget. He wasn’t as aggressive as he wanted to be and felt like he had to solidify himself as the starting attacker Syracuse head coach John Desko chose him to be.
“I came out shooting today and I had a lot more confidence,” Voigt said. “I only got a couple shots last week and I wanted to get rid of last week’s game and come out today to help our guys win.”
Syracuse outhustled Albany all afternoon long. They won the groundball battle 44-24, beating the Great Danes to seemingly every loose ball to set up numerous fast break opportunities. Desko said that it was last week’s lazy performance that forced him to put extra emphasis on groundballs in the practices leading up to today.
“We’ve always been a pretty good groundball team and Colgate just kind of woke us up,” Desko said. “When you lose a game and watch the film, all the mistakes just come to the surface.”
The two teams exchanged blows in the first quarter as Syracuse escaped with a 4-3 lead. The second quarter represented a turning point as junior goalie Drake Porter acted as a brick wall. He only allowed one goal on 10 shots through the second and third quarters while the Orange offense poured in five goals over that time to take a 9-4 advantage into the fourth quarter. Sophomore Brendan Curry scored twice in the fourth, Voigt added one more and freshman Basil Aburn scored his first career goal to complete the 13-5 victory.
Up next for the Orange is another home game when it welcomes Army to the Carrier Dome on Sunday, Feb. 24. First face-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
is a sports writer for The NewsHouse, as well as a WAER and WJPZ radio personality and a host for CitrusTV’s “Unpeeled.”
Andrew Kuppers is a contributor to TheNewsHouse.com
