Syracuse Cruises Past Navy 18-9

By Karl Moeglein

CitrusTV Men’s Lacrosse Beat Reporter

ANAPOLIS, Md. — Syracuse never trailed against Navy, but the offense couldn’t find its rhythm until the second quarter. The Orange’s lead ebbed and flowed when Midshipmen senior Ryan Wade scored his only goal of the game to tie the game 4-4 with 13:23 left before halftime. But the Orange quickly hopped back in front when Brad Voigt beat Navy goalie Ryan Kern twice in the next five minutes.

Syracuse would score four unanswered goals to end the first half, carrying a 10-5 lead into the locker room. The Orange then netted another three to start the third quarter, building an eight-goal lead that the Midshipmen couldn’t recover from.

No. 7 Syracuse (9-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) cruised to a 18-9 victory against Navy (5-7, 3-4 Patriot League) in the Orange’s highest scoring performance of the season.

SU’s attack powered the team’s offensive production. The starting line combined for 17 points with Redshirt Junior Stephen Rehfuss leading the way, tying a season-high seven points. Rehfuss tallied five assists before adding two late goals while Senior Brad Voigt dominated in front of the net with five goals on six shots.

Defensively, Syracuse held its fourth-straight opponent to single-digit goals. Goalie Drake Porter turned away 16 shots while allowing just seven goals.

“The communication has been there, the one-on-one has been there and the slides have been pretty crisp,” Porter said. “As a goalie, I definitely have no complaints.”

The win puts a cap on a successful regular season for Syracuse, ending on a four-game winning streak. The Orange have not lost since their trip to Notre Dame in March. Since then, Syracuse has played its most dominant stretch of lacrosse, never trailing during the second half.

“We’ve been trying to get better all year long and put 60-minutes together, and I think we’re getting closer to doing that,” said head coach John Desko.

Syracuse takes on North Carolina on Thursday in the first round of the ACC tournament. The game is the first in the tournament’s new format, where Syracuse, as a fourth-seed, will no longer advance directly to the semifinals. The Orange bested the Tar Heels 12-9 just 12 days before the two teams will square off again. The winner will move on to face Virginia in the semifinals.

@karl_moeglein | kpmoegle@syr.edu