Takeaways from Syracuse lacrosse's 9-8 OT win over Penn

PHILADELPHIA - The Orange stopped their brief two-game road losing slide by coming back from an 8-4 second-half deficit to edge the Penn Quakers 9-8 in OT Sunday afternoon at Franklin Field.

After a lackluster first half performance that featured an offense out of sync, the Orange came alive in the fourth quarter with a pair of goals to force OT, while the defense blanked the Quakers in the final quarter.

Here are a few observations from Sunday's comeback win at Penn's historic stadium.

A slow and sluggish offensive start did not completely doom the Orange in the end

SU lost the shot battle, getting only 30 shots off to Penn's 39. The Quakers had the Orange offense solved and exposed their inability to create aside from a few key sets. Each Syracuse possession read the same: Michael Leo attacked the goalies left side driving, looks for shot or pass, ball finds its way to Spallina, then a turnover on a pass or a shot that was swallowed up by Penn's Jack Pelot.

The offense was just too predictable and stagnant at times. The Penn defense was able to cut off passing opportunities and force turnovers. The Quakers were able to get the Orange to turn the ball over 17 times.

The Orange ultimately had to fight for every offensive possession because they were not getting them from the face-offs as SU won just 6 face offs to Penn's 12. With limited opportunities, it was almost impossible to establish any semblance of consistency.

Syracuse was able to score this afternoon by taking advantage of man-up opportunities, of which they went 3 for 5. The energy completely flipped in the fourth quarter where great defense and enough offensive output was enough to force the extra frame.

Finn Thompson was the offensive star this afternoon with a hat trick.

Penn dominated the time of possession, but the Orange defense held tough in the end

The Syracuse defense was stout. Despite SU losing the face off battle 12-6 and getting dominated in the time of possession, the defense stood tall, and Jimmy McCool collected 10 saves.

This game was physical and at times chippy with multiple big hits and penalties. This was the edge that the Orange really leaned on. They looked to wear down the Quakers, and in the end, their efforts payed off as Penn started to flail in the fourth.

The foundation of the comeback today was a stellar defensive effort. After the Quakers pulled out to a 8-4 lead by the end of third, the Orange held Penn to a scoreless fourth. The Orange kept heavy pressure in that quarter and forced four turnovers. After Penn had dominated all game, they seemed to lose all their momentum and were not able to establish any more coherent offense.

Shaking road demons and taking a ranked road win

The Orange stole their first road win of the season as they continue their road swing, with their next game at Johns Hopkins. A loss today would've made the road trip, which has three more games left, that much more difficult.

The Orange fans travelled and showed up to support their team. With a pretty healthy attendance at Franklin Field, Syracuse won the energy battle. Never waining in their support despite the deficit, the fans helped rally the Orange back.

Gait commented that the Orange stayed together dispute the adversity, and that allowed them to halt a two-game skid. This win should most definitely be used a spring board to launch this team and hopefully lead them to turning this into a winning roadtrip.

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