Defense, Goaltending Shine as Syracuse Tops Vermont in Season Opener
In front of about 3,500 fans, the Syracuse Orange started their season off with a 7-5 win over the defending America East champions, the University of Vermont Catamounts.
Leading the way for the Orange offense was Finn Thomson, the freshman out of Toronto. Thomson finished the game with three points, one coming from an unassisted goal with five minutes left in the second period and the other two from assists. The six-foot-one attack took four shots, two of which were on goal.
The only Orangeman to score twice was Jackson Birtwistle, a redshirt freshman out of St. David’s, PA. Birtwistle said after the game that playing alongside so much talent made his job easy, citing his teammates’ passing abilities.
While the depth of Syracuse’s scoring abilities was certainly impressive, it was both teams’ defenses that stole the show. Vermont’s offense came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, scoring three goals within just under two minutes. The ‘Cuse defense, however, responded accordingly, as Vermont would not score again.
Syracuse defender Nick Caccamo said postgame that the Catamounts caught them off guard with the scoring spurt in the third period.
“They just jumped the gun. They were playing pretty hard” said Caccamo. “We definitely had to take a second. We all got together and just calmed down, caught our breath, and got on the same page again.”
Perhaps the star of the Orange defense was Will Mark. The goalkeeper’s SU debut has been highly anticipated since the announcement that he would start just a few days ago. Mark, a senior transfer from Long Island University, racked up 13 saves off 18 Catamount shots on goal.
On the opposite end of the field, Vermont’s goalkeeper, Matt Shaffer, had an impressive showing, as well. Shaffer, a graduate student from Natick, MA, tallied 16 saves from 23 shots on goal from the Orange. Vermont’s Head Coach, Chris Feifs, said this moment is especially big for Shaffer since he’s waited five years to show people what he’s capable of.
Shaffer said postgame that the efforts of his defense made his job easier.
“I was just really proud of our defense,” said Shaffer, noting that his defense forced SU to take shots that he “wanted to see”.
Syracuse Head Coach Gary Gait said postgame that he sees room for improvement in his team’s offense, but that they set up a team-friendly offensive scheme designed to get the ball to as many Orangemen as possible. He attributes the team’s deep scoring abilities to said team-oriented scheme.
Gait also explained that Joey Spallina, the highly touted freshman attack, has room to grow, even though he led the team with eight shots on goal out of 15 total shots taken.
“Rookies come in and sometimes you try too hard. That’s what it looked like to me,” said Gait. “He’s just got to learn to let the game come to him and do what he does on a day to day basis. I think when he focuses on trying to score, which he was, the goals will come to you.”
Spallina, who came to the 315 as the number one recruit in the class of 2022, has had Orange fans buzzing with excitement in anticipation of his college debut. He did not disappoint, scoring his first goal in a Syracuse uniform with 36 seconds left to play in the third period. The unassisted goal tied the game at five points apiece. His shot put his team in prime position to secure the win with two goals in the fourth.
Spallina said that despite scoring his first goal as an Orangeman, he’s dissatisfied with his performance and is already looking ahead.
“I could not shoot today,” said Spallina. “Obviously it felt good to score my first goal and all, but now, we’re on to Albany.”
The Orangemen are back in action on February 10 as they take on the Great Danes of UAlbany at 6:00 p.m. in the JMA Wireless Dome.
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