SYRACUSE, NY – The 11^th-ranked Syracuse men's lacrosse team closed Sunday's game against seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins with the final three goals as the Orange pulled away late for a 13-10 win over the Blue Jays.  Syracuse improves to 5-2 with the win, while the Blue Jays slip to 5-2 with the loss.
 
Tied at 10 after Johns Hopkins' Charlie Iler scored his third goal of the game with 7:29 on the fourth-quarter clock, the Orange struck twice in a 30-second span to grab a two-goal lead.  Luke Rhoa got his hands free on the backside and Owen Hiltz found him after sweeping to the middle to give SU an 11-10 lead just 40 seconds after Iler scored and then Hiltz stuck his fourth of the game 30 ticks later off a feed from Joey Spallina to double the lead.
 
The 12-10 score held for just over three minutes before Sam English found Michael Leo alone on the wing and Leo fired home the insurance goal with 2:59 remaining to seal the victory.
 
After trailing by three goals early in the game, the Blue Jays used a 4-1 run that bridged the second and third quarters to turn a 5-4 deficit into an 8-6 lead.
 
Senior Stuart Phillips dunked home a slick cross-crease feed Erik Chick midway through the second quarter to even the game at 5-5 and Quintan Kilrain found Iler on the crease in the final minute of the period to give the Jays a one-goal lead at the half.
 
The 6-5 score held until midway through the third quarter before Rhoa ended an SU scoring drought that had dripped past 14 minutes when he scored while falling to the turf just over six minutes into the second half.  The SU scoring drought of 14:21 marked the 13^th time this season that the Blue Jay defense has held the opposition scoreless for 10 minutes or longer and the eighth stretch of 14 or more minutes.
 
Iler then fed midfielder Dylan Bauer late in the shot clock on the Blue Jays' next possession and Chick scored off a swim-dodge along the goal line three minutes later to give Hopkins an 8-6 lead.
 
The Blue Jays had possession and the two-goal lead as the clock dripped under the two-minute mark in the third quarter, but Syracuse converted a turnover into a Tyler Cordes goal in transition with 1:48 remaining and the Orange struck twice more in the next 51 seconds to grab a 9-8 lead entering the final period.
 
 A big save for Blue Jay goalie Luke Staudt off the opening faceoff of the final period led to a Matt Collison goal at the other end and Hiltz and Iler traded goals in a 44-second span midway through the period to set the stage for the game-ending run by the Orange.
 
Early on, Syracuse sprinted out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game as Spallina scored in transition just 71 seconds into the game and Leo spun around a defender and found the far post while falling to the turf just 41 seconds later.  The Orange had their three-goal cushion just under four minutes later when Hiltz was on the back end of a great one-more and found the net to make it 3-0.
 
It took six minutes of game time for the Orange to build the three-goal lead and half that for Johns Hopkins to turn the three-goal deficit into a one-goal lead as the Blue Jays struck for four goals in a span of just 2:58 midway through the period.
 
Fueled by the effort of senior faceoff specialist Logan Callahan, who would win seven of nine first-quarter faceoffs, the Blue Jays went make-it-take-it during their run.  Iler opened the scoring for Johns Hopkins when he spun between a pair of defenders behind the goal and rifled one home from a tough angle at the 7:44 mark.
 
Iler's goal sprung the four-goal run that included a Chuck Rawson laser from the wing, an extra-man strike from junior Collison and bullet from the wing from sophomore Hunter Chauvette.
 
The Chauvette goal was the last for the Blue Jays until Phillips' goal midway through the second quarter that pulled the Jays even at 5-5.  Iler's half-ending goal followed five minutes later to give the Jays the 6-5 halftime lead.
 
Iler made his first career start and responded with three goals and one assist.  Collison was JHU's only other multi-goal scorer as he added a pair and Bauer (1g, 1a) and Chick (1g, 1a) also added multi-point games.  Callahan's quick start at the X propelled him to a 12-of-23 day with five ground balls.
 
Hiltz (4g, 1a) paced the Orange offensively and SU's 13 goals came from just five players.  Leo chipped with in with a hat trick and Spallina and Cordes both punched up two goals and two assists.  Jimmy McCool posted 12 saves in goal for the Orange, who held advantages in shots (47-35) and ground balls (32-20).
 
Notes of Interest
• Today's loss snaps a nine-game Johns Hopkins road winning streak that was the longest in the nation entering the game.
 
Up Next
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, March 15 when the Blue Jays make the short trip to Navy to take on the Midshipmen (7 pm).