by The No. 3 Syracuse men’s lacrosse team (12-2) concluded its regular season slate with a win over in-state foe Colgate (4-10) on Saturday to head towards the NCAA Tournament with an 11-9 victory.
Syracuse got goals from eight different players on the afternoon – including redshirt senior goalie Evan Molloy – as the Orange overcame a 7-6 third quarter deficit to come away with the win.
Brendan Bomberry (Six Nations Mohawk) led the way offensively with four points (3-1) and Ben Williams was stout at the X, giving ‘Cuse possession on 16-of-23 restarts. In addition to his goal, Molloy also made nine saves in the win.
Besides Bomberry and Molloy, SU got scoring from Jordan Evans (2-1), Sergio Salcido (1-2), Nate Solomon (1-2), Jamie Trimboli (1-0). Stephen Rehfuss (1-0), Pat Carlin (1-0), Matt Lane (0-1) and Joe Gillis (0-1).
It was a game of runs for both teams throughout, with each team having multiple stretches of three-or-more consecutive goals.
The Orange jumped out to an early 3-0 lead five minutes into the game, when Bomberry scored twice on feeds from Gillis and Lane respectively, then setup Solomon for the third goal.
The Raiders got three-straight of their own later in the quarter, when Anthony Abbadessa scored followed by a pair of goals from Sam Cleveland.
Evans halted the run with 11:08 left before halftime, before Rehfuss and Trimboli each scored their goals to provide a 6-3 lead with two minutes to play before halftime.
Cleveland got one back for Colgate, sending the Raiders to the locker room down just two, but the 15-minute break wouldn’t halt their momentum as Colgate got three-straight to start the third and take their only lead of the game at 7-6.
Bomberry finished his hat trick to stop the Colgate scoring on a pass from Salcido, who scored his own goal later in the frame to give the Orange a one-goal advantage heading into the fourth.
Evans and Carlin scored to start the fourth, but Colgate wouldn’t go away. Peter Donato and Cleveland each found the back of the net to pull within one with 1:32 to play. The Orange defense was then tasked with staving off multiple chances for the equalizer from the Raiders and were up to the task each time.
On the last chance, Molloy flung the ball up field to clear it out of the Orange zone, where it found the back of the net for his first-career goal.
Syracuse will likely receive one of the top seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which would result in a home game for the first round next weekend. Seeding, opponent and game location will be announced on Sunday night at 9 p.m. on ESPNU during the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show.
