Nick Mariano sliced a shot past Albany goalie JD Colarusso with 1.6 seconds left on the clock to secure Syracuse’s second win of the season; a 10-9 decision over the Great Danes.
This game seemed to be a mirror image of the last time Albany (0-1) and Syracuse (2-0) met, which was in the NCAA tournament last April. That time around, Syracuse came back to beat the Great Danes in an intense matchup, 11-9 in overtime.
Saturday afternoon, Syracuse’s five goal comeback was the largest comeback win since 2013. After being down 6-1 early in the second quarter, eight different Orange players scored, including Mariano with the game-winning strike.
“It was a good exercise for us and the experience is only going to help us going forward," Syracuse Head Coach John Desko said. “I thought it was a very good win for us given the time of year and the kind of game that it was.”
This was the 43rd straight game Syracuse won when holding its opponents to under 10 goals in a game.
As for some of the individual performances, redshirt senior goalie Evan Malloy had nine saves in the victory, including six during a 30-plus minute stretch where Albany did not score. On the offensive end, after being held scoreless for the first three and a half quarters, senior midfielder Sergio Salcido scored two goals for the Orange, forcing a back and forth battle between the two New York schools before Mariano slammed one home for the victory.
Albany jumped out to a 2-0 start thanks to goals scored by Kyle McLancy and Jack Burgmaster. Denver transfer Brendan Bomberry found his cousin, defenseman Tyson Bomberry to put Syracuse on the board; but another score by Albany’s Eli Lasda put the Great Danes up 3-1 after the first period.
Things got worse for Syracuse, as the Great Danes added three more goals in the second frame. Snapping an 11-minute scoreless streak, sophomore attackman Brad Voigt put on in the net to cut the Great Dane lead to four.
The Orange scored again as Pat Carlin scored his first goal of the year with eight minutes left in the second quarter. The Orange went into the locker room with a 6-3 deficit heavy in its mind and its adrenaline pumping.
Syracuse’s adrenaline seemed to last through halftime, as it came out firing. Junior midfielder Matt Lane scored four minutes into the third quarter off a gem of a pass from Salcido. Freshman Jamie Trimboli then added his first goal of the season about eight minutes later to close the gap to one.
With just two and a half minutes left in the third quarter, Syracuse completed the comeback, with a diving Brendan Bomberry finding the back of the net for the fifth straight goal for the Orange.
Just 18 seconds later, Syracuse took its first lead of the game with another defensive goal, this one coming from sophomore Austin Fusco’s long pole.
Albany did not go away, however, scoring two straight goals to take the lead back at 8-7 halfway through the fourth period.
Just two minutes later, Salcido scored the first of his two goals off a Bomberry assist. Salcido later pushed Syracuse out to a 9-8 lead with a hard-ripped goal. The Great Danes would knot the game at nine with 3:43 left in the game.
Then it was time for the heroics. With the game tied at nine, Desko took a timeout to set up a play with just seven seconds left on the clock. With 1.6 left on the clock, Mariano caught the ball on the left side and fired a fade-away shot past Colarusso to solidify the come-from-behind 10-9 victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCOQAPka_pk
Syracuse finds itself in the Dome for the third straight week when it hosts Army Saturday at noon. You can catch all of the action on 88.3 FM WAER.