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Gary Gait isn’t one to hold grudges. It’s rare he doesn’t smile when answering questions at press conferences. Monday was a bit of an exception. Heading into a rematch with Towson, after the Orange defeated it 20-15, in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Gait said the Tigers provided Syracuse with “bulletin board material.”

How can a team that won a tournament game be provided with bulletin board material? That happens when the losing side claims they could’ve won if they had more possessions. SU went 23-of-38 at the faceoff X in May’s game, which led to Towson’s downfall.

It’s unclear who Gait was speaking about with those comments. Proclamations like that from him are almost unheard of. What was clear was Gait wanted his team to make a statement. And they did.

“We just wanted to play well again and prove that we were a better team,” Gait said.

Two-hundred-seventy-six days later, No. 2 Syracuse (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) didn’t leave any doubt who’s superior, blowing past No. 16 Towson (0-2, 0-0 Coastal Athletic Association) 18-7. The Orange started fast, jumping out to a three-goal first-quarter lead. They then struggled to separate, until exploding for seven unanswered goals in the fourth quarter. Joey Spallina and Owen Hiltz were nearly unguardable, combining for 13 points, while Luke Rhoa’s career-high four goals gave SU some juice.

Through two games, Syracuse has breezed through its competition. It did what is expected for a team that has national championship aspirations in 2025.

First came a 24-5 drubbing of Jacksonville, then another dominant 13-5 win over Vermont. In both games, SU jumped out to commanding leads, going up 10-0 and 6-0, respectively, and didn’t have to sweat in the second half.

Monday was a different challenge. Along with the revenge factor, Towson returned seven of its eight top scorers from last season, starting faceoff man Matt Constantinides and goalie Luke Downs.

Syracuse still punched Towson in the mouth early. The scoring got started when Michael Leo isolated on the right wing and easily maneuvered to the inside of his defender before finishing past Downs. Finn Thomson added another to make it 2-0, two-and-a-half minutes in.

Bode Maurer and Ronan Fitzpatrick got Towson on the board with a couple of scores five minutes apart. Though each time, Syracuse answered with two goals right back. Thomson’s second of the day made it 6-2 toward the end of the first quarter.

“It doesn’t matter who’s out there. We’re moving the ball until we find good, open, quality shots,” Gait said postgame.

Towson hung tough during the middle portion of the contest, slowing down a scorching-hot Syracuse offense. The Tigers switched to a zone defense at times and were more patient on the offensive end. They put pressure on the Orange, outshooting them 16-7 in the third quarter, forcing goalie Jimmy McCool into some tough saves.

McCool had a rough go in the first half, making two saves on seven shots on net. He eventually settled in, recording seven stops alone in the third quarter and finishing the game, saving 56% of the shots he faced. His saves allowed Syracuse to go into the fourth quarter, still holding a four-goal lead.

With McCool keeping Towson at arm’s length, it was only a matter of time before Syracuse’s offense got hot again. Hiltz said during the third quarter, the Orange were taking the first thing Towson was giving to them, rather than staying patient. The senior explained offensive coordinator Pat March made a couple of slight tweaks, which allowed Syracuse to get back on track.

Any nerves Syracuse had heading into the fourth quarter were calmed pretty quickly. Sam English produced a solo effort to restore Syracuse’s five-goal advantage. Working from the left wing, the midfielder sprinted infield and beat the slide, firing a shot into the top right corner.

Spallina broke Syracuse’s drought of not scoring back-to-back goals with his second less than a minute later. Spallina backed his defender down from the left wing, creating a shooting angle and the junior didn’t miss. Spallia — who finished with six points — set up two more, first to Tyler McCarthy and then Leo, who finished on a slick behind-the-back.

“There’ll be some times when we go on a little cold streak, but once we find our rhythm and start controlling the pace and finishing the ball, we kind of capitalize. And it just makes it easy,” Hiltz said.

The Orange added three more just for good measure. It was a little reminiscent of Syracuse’s win over Towson in May. The Orange trailed by one at halftime before scoring nine goals in a row in the third quarter to win.

Monday was slightly different, considering SU was leading the whole way, yet once again, another big Syracuse run sealed the game. It was also another game where Syracuse controlled the faceoff X. John Mullen went 18-of-23, and Gait was quick to praise his efforts postgame.

“My hat really goes off to (Mullen’s) game today,” Gait said. “What he was able to do, it was more than just winning possessions. He allowed us to control the game quite a bit.”

Just like last postseason, Syracuse took care of business. The stakes were lowered due to it not being a win-or-go-home. But Towson was hungry for revenge. Syracuse made sure they didn’t get that satisfaction.

Published on February 10, 2025 at 7:21 pm

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