No. 7 Syracuse (7-4, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated North Carolina (6-7, 0-3), 13-12, on Saturday evening in the Carrier Dome. The Orange edged the Tar Heels for the fifth time in six matchups behind four-consecutive goals to end the game. Nate Solomon led Syracuse with four goals while SU’s Dom Madonna made seven saves.

Storming back

Syracuse battled back. After trailing by two to start the fourth quarter, Solomon opened the quarter with two-straight goals to knot the game at nine. But as the Orange often has this season, it allowed UNC to go on a three-goal run behind poor defense around the SU cage.

Still, Syracuse hung around. The Orange went on a three-goal run of its own, including two goals from freshman midfielder Brendan Curry. In overtime, Curry made his final mark. Driving from the X, he blew past his defender and fed Brendan Bomberry for the game-winning goal.

Filling in

With Marcus Cunningham out following an injury late in Tuesday’s game against Cornell, redshirt freshman defender Brett Kennedy filled in. Early this season while filling in for a then-injured Tyson Bomberry, Kennedy scored two goals against Virginia. Though he didn’t contribute any points on Saturday, Kennedy mainly covered UNC attack Andy Matthews, who had three points.

Early in the first quarter, Kennedy was switched on to the Tar Heels’ top attack Chris Cloutier. The senior tried driving to his left on Kennedy, but the SU defender rode Cloutier’s back hip. When Cloutier released a low-crank shot, it missed wide of the cage. SU defender Nick Mellen, who covered Cloutier on a regular basis, nodded his head and fist pumped Kennedy before taking back his attack.

Kennedy often walked up to the midfield to fulfill his normal duties as a faceoff wing. On the overtime faceoff, Kennedy gained possession for SU, scooping the loose ball after UNC had originally won the clamp.

Nate the great

Solomon was a lone spark for the Orange offensively, scoring four out of Syracuse’s 13 goals. The junior’s four goals tie his career high, which he had reached on three previous occasions.

Solomon faked out nearly the entire UNC defense on his first goal. Charging away from the net, Solomon looked back at the cage and jumped. Instead of releasing a jump shot, as many players in a similar situation often do, Solomon pump-faked. After landing, he faked once more. On his third wind up, Solomon finally shot, burying the ball in the bottom left of the net.

In the second half, Solomon scored thrice, the first of which came in the third quarter. As Solomon drove down the alley along the right hash marks, he slammed on the brakes. His defender, however, couldn’t stop his momentum as quickly. Spinning back to his off-hand, Solomon released what looked like a changeup into the UNC cage.

He scored twice more in the fourth quarter, once on a long rocket up near the 25-yard line and another down by the crease. His early fourth quarter offense eventually led SU back enough to win.

Published on April 14, 2018 at 6:28 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44