Syracuse Holds On to Beat Binghamton 9-8 on Senior Day

By Matt Wieselthier

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Tom Moore couldn’t be stopped.

The redshirt senior for Binghamton already had five goals on the day, and with 50 seconds left and the ball in its possession, it seemed obvious who the Bearcats would rely on to tie up the score.

However, the Orange was able to stop the ball from reaching Moore’s cross on the final possession, as Syracuse was able to pull out a 9-8 win on Senior Day.

“It was the kind of the style we’ve been playing, that one-goal game,” said Evan Molloy, who had nine saves in his final regular season Carrier Dome performance. “I wouldn’t want to go out any other way.”

Senior day is always emotional, especially for the head coach.

“A lot of emotion to start the day with Senior Day, it always is every year,” said John Desko, on his 19th Senior Day. “Surprisingly, we came out and got off to a good start.”

While the good start may have not lasted long, the emotion of Senior Day was evident.

For Ryan Simmons, this Senior Day was very special due to his lineage in Syracuse lacrosse.

“It’s a pretty special day, I don’t think my dad gets a little teary all that often,” said Simmons, who scored two goals in his Carrier Dome capstone performance. “It’s pretty surreal to be put in the places on the field that I was today and capitalize on it and look up at my grandpa. It really means the world.”

Simmons and Jordan Evans, both seniors, led the scoring for the Orange to push the team to victory. Evans was the most prolific scorer of the day, with a hat-trick, including a goal with four seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game at seven.

Now for the Orange, it’s on to a very familiar opponent. Syracuse will face off against the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament semifinals on April 28, just a couple weeks after its overtime thriller down in Chapel Hill. It will take the one seed down to Durham, NC following its first ever perfect ACC season.