ORANGE ROLLS PAST HOFSTRA AND HOLY CROSS IN OPENING SCRIMMAGE

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The 14th-ranked Orange men's lacrosse team opened the 2013 season with a pair of scrimmage wins on Saturday, Jan. 26 at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse knocked off Hofstra, 15-10, and defeated Holy Cross, 16-6. Against Hofstra, junior Derek Maltz (Ashburn, Va.) led the Orange with five points, including four goals. Classmate Pat Powderly (Reisterstown, Md.) paced Syracuse against Holy Cross with five points on three goals and two assists.

“It was great to get out here in the Carrier Dome and have the full field,” SU head coach John Desko said. “Everyone played for us in both scrimmages. It was great to get the younger guys in and good to see some of the combinations at midfield and attack. I thought the team defense played well in both games, too.”

In the first game, the Orange jumped on the Pride right away, racing out to a 5-0 lead and a 7-1 halftime advantage. Maltz and senior midfielder Luke Cometti (Syracuse, N.Y.) combined for six of the team’s seven first-half goals. All four of Maltz’s goals in the game came during the run and Cometti contributed two goals in the first quarter.

Hofstra clawed back in the second half against the Orange reserves. The Pride outscored the Orange 4-3 in the third quarter and closed the gap to 10-9 with four straight goals to open the fourth period. A goal by SU redshirt freshman Eric DeJohn (Syracuse, N.Y.) with 6:54 left pushed the Orange lead to 11-9. Hofstra’s Torin Varn struck a little over a minute later to make it a one-goal game again, but SU closed the match with four straight tallies to win by five.

The Orange offense moved the ball well against Hofstra as 12 of its15 goals were assisted.

Sophomore Bobby Wardwell (Clifton Park, N.Y.) started in the cage. He played the first half and made five saves, including four in the first quarter. Junior Dominic Lamolinara (Arnold, Md.) played the third quarter and had one save. Redshirt freshman Ben Romagnoli (Cazenovia, N.Y.) finished up and stopped two shots.

For Hofstra, Varn finished with a game-high five goals (all in the second half). Goalie Ryan Brant played the first half and made six saves.

SU’s unselfishness was on display again against Holy Cross. The Orange totaled 16 goals against the Crusaders, 12 of which were assisted. The Orange also benefitted from a 16-for-25 (.640) performance at the faceoff X, with junior Chris Daddio (Purcellville, Va.) and freshmen Cal Paduda (Madison, Conn.) and Brendan Conroy (Muttontown, N.Y.) combining to win 16 of their 20 attempts.

John Hannan scored less than two minutes into the first quarter to give Holy Cross the early lead, but it was all Orange after that. Syracuse scored the last three goals of the opening quarter to pull ahead, 3-1, and the Orange held a 6-3 advantage at the break.

The Orange added to its lead in the third quarter, scoring six of the period’s seven goals, including two by freshman Derek DeJoe (Fairport, N.Y.), to extend the advantage to 12-4. Powderly netted three straight goals in the fourth to give the hosts their largest lead of the game (15-4) and SU cruised to the 16-6 victory.

In addition to Powderly’s five points, the Orange also got a big game from junior Billy Ward (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) against the Crusaders. Ward recorded three goals and one assist.

Wardwell started again in the cage and totaled two saves. Lamolinara and Romagnoli made one stop apiece.

Hannan (two goals, one assist) and Terry McKenna (three goals) netted three points apiece to lead Holy Cross. Goalie Michael Ortlieb stopped seven shots for the Crusaders in three quarters of work.

In Saturday's opening game, Hofstra defeated Holy Cross, 15-12, behind eight points (four goals, four assists) from Sam Llinares.

Syracuse concludes its preseason exhibition schedule on Saturday, Feb. 2 in Columbus, Ohio with scrimmages against Ohio State and Robert Morris. Start time for the three-way scrimmage is 11:30 a.m. at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.