3 takeaways from Syracuse lacrosse's 12-8 win over Johns Hopkins

BALTIMORE — In the 53rd matchup between the storied lacrosse programs, Syracuse No. 10 Syracuse (5-2, ACC) defeated No. 11 Johns Hopkins (4-2, Big Ten) 12-8, on Saturday afternoon.

The win was Syracuse’s second in a row, and the Orange have some momentum again after consecutive losses to Harvard and Princeton.

“I think today was the first time in a bit where we looked like ourselves,” attackman Joey Spallina said.

Here are three takeaways from the win.

Spallina bounces back

After going scoreless in a disappointing 11-7 loss to Princeton and only with a single goal in a 9-8 overtime win against Penn, Spallina needed a rebound game against Johns Hopkins.

That’s exactly what happened on Saturday as Spallina got on the board with 11:14 left in the second quarter on an unassisted goal to put the Orange up 5-2.

It was the first of four goals for the Tewaaraton Award candidate, who capped his scoring afternoon with a goal with 8:45 left to give SU an unassailable 11-7 lead.

And even when not scoring goals, Spallina was heavily involved in the offense, adding three assists.

“It’s no secret we played terrible last weekend,” Spallina said. “I don’t think were Syracuse lacrosse at all. I think we started to do it a little bit towards the end of (the Penn) game.”

Both teams struggle with turnovers

Syracuse’s defense had a banner first quarter against the Blue Jays, notching nine turnovers, part of a day where the Orange forced 16 turnovers.

Heading into Saturday afternoon, Johns Hopkins coughed the ball up on average of 13 times a game.

Then again, the Orange didn’t exactly take care of the ball, either, as they gave up 15 of their own, with midfielder Luke Rhoa accounting for five of them.

“It wasn’t the cleanest game,” head coach Gary Gait said. "But great effort by the offense when we needed it an happy to start spring break with a W.”

Syracuse never trails

No lead against a ranked team is ever safe in college lacrosse, but Syracuse’s offense accelerated earlier and never trailed in a near wire-to-wire finish.

The Orange started with two goals from Rhoa and Finn Thomson before a pair of Matt Collison goals tied it with 14:21 in the second quarter.

But Syracuse scored three unanswered goals, and five of the next seven goals, and would lead by at least two the rest of the afternoon.

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