Patience built the lead and panic unspooled it. Albany, once in control, found itself out of options that had worked in the first 20 minutes. Syracuse’s adjustments strained the steady flow of goals into its net and limited Great Danes’ chances.

“As we settled down,” SU head coach John Desko said, “we got pretty stingy and they didn’t put up many goals in the second half. Our defense was a key part of the win today.”

For the second straight week, Syracuse defeated an opponent it has historically dominated — but this week it was a much closer call. Seven days after pummeling Siena by 13 goals, the Orange (2-0) needed a furious second-half comeback to escape Albany (0-1), 10-9, and avoid its second loss in 16 meetings between the two programs.

Albany, playing its season-opener, couldn’t avenge its 2016 season-ending loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Junior attack Nick Mariano buried the game-winner with 1.6 seconds remaining, but SU wouldn’t have even been in position to win if not for its vastly improved second-stanza defense that facilitated the comeback.

“In the second half, we held a little bit more,” Tyson Bomberry said. “They were expecting us to slide and as a result they weren’t dodging as hard. It kind of threw them off their game plan.”

From the outset, though, Syracuse’s defense seemed the main culprit in what appeared to be SU’s first loss of the season. Albany built a 6-1 lead — its largest ever in the Carrier Dome — on Syracuse miscues.

Midfielder Sergio Salcido flailed as Albany’s Kyle McClancy promptly beat him in transition. 1-0. Jack Burgmaster spun around an over-eager Pat Carlin, another midfielder trapped on defense. 2-0. Great Danes star Connor Fields still thwarted Syracuse, finally in a set defense, by skipping a pass to teammate Eli Lasada, who put the ball in the back of the net before SU’s Joe Gillis recovered to him. 3-1.

Those late rotations, early slides and pick-switches negated long, effective defensive stretches and exposed the Orange.

“We created some offense for them,” Desko said.

To the defense’s credit, it was responsible for some Syracuse offense too. When sophomore defender Tyson Bomberry scooped up a groundball, he signaled to his cousin, midfielder Brendan Bomberry, to push the ball up. The two-on-one led to a long-pole goal, the first of Tyson’s career.

Rushes were a part of the problem though, Desko said, citing self-kept team stats. Defender Scott Firman kept Fields in check (he finished with four assists) but Orange offense devolved into passing once or twice, shooting and then spending upwards of two minutes on defense. SU rotated Austin Fusco and Andrew Helmer nearly every other possession at long-stick midfielder to keep up. When defender Marcus Cunningham seemed unable to keep up, Syracuse subbed in freshman Nick DiPietro.

On the sideline, Desko implored his team to slide earlier and hold longer. Albany didn’t score from early in the second quarter to the beginning of the fourth — a span of 30:08. UA’s shot attempts decreased and turnovers rose. In that time, Syracuse chipped away at its deficit and finally took the lead. Albany’s methodical ability to work the ball around evaporated as the Great Danes pressed like its opponent had.

“In that third quarter, a little bit of our youth came out,” UA midfielder Bennett Drake said. “Maybe inexperience. We just didn’t execute what had worked in the first two quarters. Whatever it was, we got away from it.”

UA worked too fast and ran its offense east-to-west, head coach Scott Marr said. He told his team to slow down before the fourth quarter and it worked. With 3:43 to go, Fields assisted a Great Danes goal to tie the game at 9. Albany had a chance.

The Great Danes regained possession with about two minutes to go. Officials then issued a 30-second shot clock warning. “Smart possession,” Marr yelled. The clock, turned on for the end of the game, affected UA’s judgement, Marr said. Then Firman, switched onto Albany’s Justin Reh, forced a turnover to give Syracuse one last chance. Out of a timeout with 7.6 seconds to go, Mariano hesitated and scored.

And, as had been true all day, play favored the team with patience.

Published on February 18, 2017 at 8:22 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR