GENEVA — With 8:02 left in the third quarter, a jacketed Syracuse player peeled away from a huddle, heard House of Pain’s “Jump Around” blaring through Urick Stadium and hopped twice. As the huddle broke, two more Orange reserves shimmied back to their spot on the sideline.

It was easy to celebrate their most-recent scoring run — an extended 12-goal stretch that was at six scores at the time. But this one was different, if only slightly. This one secured the Kraus-Simmons Trophy and SU head coach John Desko’s 250th win. For the 2019 season, it showed that the Orange can put away an opponent rather than catch up to one.

“It felt like everything went their way from the middle of that second quarter on,” Hobart head coach Greg Raymond said. “You look at these stats, there’s not a ton of discrepancy. … I think they scored goals when they had opportunities.”

Challenging the second-best offense in the country (16.11 goals per game), No. 11 Syracuse (6-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) completed its second-best offensive showing of the season. Its 17 goals, 10 of which were the only scores of the second half, led it past No. 20 Hobart (8-2, 2-0 Northeast), 17-5, on Tuesday night. Bradley Voigt and Jacob Buttermore each tallied hat tricks. Nate Solomon and Stephen Rehfuss each dished three assists. And a revamped pregame routine prevented another slow-start for the Orange.

After 15 minutes two weeks ago, the Orange were down 4-2 to Duke. Two days ago, SU stared at a nine-goal deficit versus the Fighting Irish. Facing the Statesmen’s multi-faceted offense, Syracuse knew it couldn’t afford another early deficit. And despite 17 turnovers, the unit did enough to win its rivalry game for a 31st time.

“We’ve struggled in a few games in the first half, so I thought we improved on that,” Desko said. “… Some of the things we worked on this week were getting better earlier. And then trying to continue things that we’ve done in the second half. So we’re able to do that.”

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So before the game, the Orange shot at different colored patches in the corners of the goal but then changed it up. Four defenders in white pullovers guarded Syracuse’s crease. SU attack in blue jerseys passed around them, eyeing openings and lofting shots. The goal was to get attack “comfortable,” Voigt said.

To open the scoring, Solomon threaded a pass to Rehfuss across the zone, giving SU the lead. Later in the frame, Brendan Curry fed Jamie Trimboli down the middle of Hobart’s defense. While Desko mentioned that the Orange started “a little slow,” the improved routine worked partially on Tuesday night.

“Sometimes if you put too much of an emphasis on something,” Desko said of the early-game struggles, “then they’ll go out and maybe try to force some things.”

A more patient offense emerged in the second quarter. Buttermore and midfielder David Lipka darted through Hobart’s zone and registered goals. Voigt added a pair before getting his third following halftime. After Desko stressed for weeks that slow starts were an issue that demanded fixing, the Orange carried a two-goal lead into halftime.

After the break, Syracuse again displayed the in-game adjustments that’s carried it at times this season. While the defense held the Statesmen scoreless in the second half, the offense added pressure by scoring nearly each time it wrangled possession.

Increased ball movement and spacing triggered another offensive run. The Orange ran out on fast breaks, something Hobart spent the majority of game trying to do itself. Defenders Brett Kennedy and Tyson Bomberry ventured into the midfield on clears, sparking quick passes.

With 13:12 left in the third quarter, Voigt slid near the crease and swung a shot home to put SU up three. Later in the frame, he picked off Hobart goalie Sam Lucchesi and ripped home the Orange’s 13th score, sending some fans down the bleacher steps and toward the exit.

“Something we talked about all week,” Raymond said of Voigt’s second goal. “… Right then you start to see our game plan break down a little bit.”

More fans left their seats after Jakob Phaup (13-of-20) won the next face-off. Another handful departed when Curry got on the board. By the fourth quarter, reserves rotated through. Postgame, Voigt sat and reflected on the warmup change that eventually turned into Syracuse’s best single-game performance of the season.

“I think it worked out really well,” Voigt said of the switch before glancing at Desko and smirking. “I think we should do it going forward.”

Published on April 2, 2019 at 10:58 pm

Contact Nick: [email protected] | @nick_a_alvarez