Dominant fourth lifts Orange past Rutgers, 18-14

For the second week in a row, a dominant fourth quarter lifted the No. 13 Syracuse men’s lacrosse team (4-2) past a ranked opponent. This time, ‘Cuse overcame a pair of four-goal deficits to down No. 16 Rutgers (4-4), 18-14.

The Orange took their first lead on a goal by Griffin Cook with under-seven minutes to go in regulation, closing the game on an 8-1 run in the final 11:03. With leading 13-10 with 12 minutes to go, the Orange offense ignited. Cook and David Lipka each registered three points over the run to come in clutch and help ‘Cuse overcome a four-goal deficit for the second game in a row.

Syracuse led in nearly every statistical category, but a strong day by Rutgers’ Max Edelmann kept Syracuse from leading until the fourth quarter, as the netminder made 19 saves. Syracuse picked up more ground balls (50-34) and led in shots (57-37), but it was the X where ‘Cuse shined brightest. Danny Varello (12-of-16) and Jakob Phaup (15-of-20) combined for the Orange to win 75-percent of restarts. Jared Fernandez was a big reason why, collecting a career-high eight ground balls from the wing.

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