Syracuse men’s lacrosse closed out its longest regular-season road stretch in more than 50 years with a 13-12 victory over No. 14 Denver on Monday night at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Luke Rhoa led the No. 8 Orange with a career-high four goals, while Payton Anderson recorded two goals and two assists. Finn Thomson also had two goals and two assists, Joey Spallina and Billy Dwan each scored once, and Jimmy McCool made 10 saves in goal. Syracuse improved to 5-1 all-time against Denver and finished the six-game road swing with a 4-2 record.
The Orange built a 12-7 lead through three quarters before Denver mounted a late rally. The Pioneers capitalized on two early fourth-quarter penalties and scored three straight man-up goals to cut the deficit to 12-10.
Spallina answered with a goal midway through the fourth quarter to push the lead back to three. Denver responded with two goals, including tallies from Chase Bruno and Chris Merageas, to make it a one-goal game, but Syracuse held on defensively in the closing minutes.
Syracuse had taken control earlier in the game with a strong third quarter. Rhoa, Tucker Kellogg and Anderson scored on the Orange’s first three possessions of the half to stretch the lead, and goals from Dwan, Rhoa and Thomson helped extend the margin.
John Mullen controlled possession at the faceoff X, winning 14 of 24 draws and collecting seven ground balls. Syracuse finished with advantages in shots (43-37) and ground balls (30-24).
The Orange return home Sunday, March 22 to host No. 13 Georgetown at the JMA Wireless Dome. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
