BALTIMORE, MD – The top-ranked Syracuse men's lacrosse team used a six-goal first-quarter run to turn a 1-1 tie into a 7-1 lead and the Orange never let host Johns Hopkins closer than four the rest of the way in a 15-9 victory at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon.  Syracuse improves to 5-0 on the year, while the Blue Jays slip to 1-4.
 
After Chase Scanlan opened the scoring for the Orange just under three minutes into the game, the Blue Jays stuck the equalizer less than two minutes later when sophomore Garrett Degnon blew home his team-leading ninth goal of the season.  From there, the Orange took control of the quarter and quickly turned the deadlock into a 7-1 lead.
 
Senior Jamie Trimboli jump-started the game-deciding run when he took a Stephen Rehfuss pass and scored on a step-down from the wing.  Trimboli also added the sixth goal in the spree, first-line midfield mate Tucker Dordevic added a pair of his own and Scanlan and David Lipka also scored during the run, but it was Rehfuss grabbing the headlines as he assisted on three of the six to give him four first-quarter helpers.
 
The Blue Jays sliced the deficit to four at 8-4 as they scored three of the next four over a six-minute span bridging the first and second quarters.  Junior Brett Baskin scored back-to-back goals to make it 7-3 before David Curry answered with an extra-man goal for the Orange.  A transition goal from Owen McManus off an assist from Ryan Darby accounted for the 8-4 score with 8:50 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The mini-rally for the Blue Jays, which ended with the McManus tally, was halted by a four-goal Syracuse run that started and ended with unassisted goals from Trimboli. The first came with 6:59 on the second-quarter clock, while he capped the run with his fourth goal of the game with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter to make it 12-4.
 
The Blue Jays answered with their final push as freshman Owen Murphy scored off the faceoff following Trimboli's fourth of the game and Cole Williams and Luke Shilling scored back-to-back goals 32 seconds apart less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to make it 12-7.
 
Johns Hopkins had a golden opportunity to slice further into the lead after Syracuse turned the ball over on the extra-man just under two minutes after Shilling's goal, but the Blue Jays turned it over trying to clear and Scanlan scored into an empty net to make it 13-7 and the teams traded the final four goals to account for the 15-9 final score.
 
Murphy, who scored JHU's final two goals of the game, led the Blue Jays with three goals and one assist for a career-high four points, while Baskin (2g, 1a) added three points in the loss.  Darby came off the bench and posted 13 saves in goal over the final 50:16 after senior Jacob Giacalone earned the first start of his career before giving way after the Orange jumped to a 4-1 lead.
 
Rehfuss (7a), Scanlan (5g, 1a) and Trimboli (4g, 1a) led the way offensively for the Orange, who got 14 of their 15 goals and 10 of their 11 assists from their starting attack and first midfield.
 
Johns Hopkins will make a quick turnaround as the Blue Jays will host Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 pm.