Late in the fourth quarter, Dante Trader showed off his lacrosse and football moves at SECU Stadium. Trader fell down at the 50-yard line and somehow got up with the ball in his stick while surrounded by two defenders.
He burst through defenders to Maryland’s offensive attack and dodged a long stick defender, and then fired a shot in between two Orange’s sticks, putting Maryland up 15-10 with seven minutes to go.
Trader’s second goal of the game was the Terps’ final goal of the afternoon, as No. 9 Maryland men’s lacrosse used multiple scoring runs to dispatch No. 18 Syracuse, 15-10.
The teams traded blows alternating momentum, but every time Maryland needed a goal it got one.
It looked like the Terps put last week’s loss in the rear view mirror starting out hot, scoring three goals in two minutes and 20 seconds.
“We just happened to have more runs than them today and that’s a big credit to our offense,” junior defender Ajax Zappitello said. “They changed a lot throughout the week and they were ready from the get go today and it made a big difference.”
Syracuse started to slowly chip away at the lead, going on a 3-0 run of its own, holding Maryland scoreless for the next 19 minutes but the Terps defense kept the Orange from retaking the lead.
Yet the Terps continued their offensive power, out-shooting the Orange 17-5 in the first quarter.
After a rough game against Loyola, Maryland junior attacker Owen Murphy found himself on the bench to start the game but found his shot in the second quarter. Maryland earned the man-up opportunity and Murphy took advantage.
Murphy fired a shot from over 20 yards out that got past senior goalkeeper Will Mark right before the penalty clock expired, putting Maryland ahead 4-3.
Murphy’s goal started Maryland’s second scoring run, this time a 4-0 run in 2:30 to increase the Terps’ lead to 7-3.
Syracuse continued to cut into Maryland’s lead, this time using a 2-0 run, but junior attacker Daniel Kelly and graduate student midfielder John Geppert scored goals 10 seconds apart in the final minute to put Maryland ahead 9-5 at halftime.
“This week I thought we hit singles,” Kelly said. “We moved the ball well…it’s a fun style of lacrosse when you do that.”
While Maryland played sloppily in the first half dropping easy passes it still was able to find shots, taking 32 shots in the first half and finishing the game with 50, tying the team’s 2022 season-high.
Yet of those 50 shots only 33 were on target as the Terps only shot 30%. Part of that was from the excellent play from Mark, who made 12 saves in the first half and finished the game with 18.
“We’d like to be into the 40s [percent],” coach John Tillman said. “33 shots at halftime you’re like ‘Man I just kept thinking to myself we should be up by more only because of that many shots.’ But that’s something that you just gotta keep working on. Hopefully the more they play the more comfortable they are, it’s still early in the season.”
Coming out of halftime, Syracuse flashed momentum with freshman midfielder Michael Leo shooting the ball high into the left corner of the net above graduate student goalkeeper Teddy Dolan’s head to start the third quarter.
Dolan made his first career start in a Maryland uniform after senior goalkeeper Logan McNaney injured himself at the end of the Loyola game. McNaney was seen on the sidelines on crutches during pregame.
Dolan made nine saves in the win as Syracuse was careful in its shot selection, with 21 of its 29 shots on the net.
Once Syracuse cut Maryland’s deficit to 9-7, Maryland responded with Kelly scoring a goal right on the doorstep to complete the hat trick. Trader scored his first career goal fifteen seconds later, making it a 12-7 game with over nine minutes left in the third quarter.
The teams continued trading scoring blows as the game turned physical late in the fourth quarter. The teams combined for seven penalties in the fourth quarter, including Trader drawing a penalty on his second goal of the game.
Syracuse took advantage of three Maryland penalties late, scoring two more goals, but the five-goal deficit was too much for the Orange to overcome.
“Just getting back in the win column is something that we just appreciate more,” Zappitello said.
