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Just 13 seconds after the second half started, Chase Scanlan forced a UVA turnover. He picked up the ground ball, started running down the field and flicked to Stephen Rehfuss, who was better positioned and had more momentum running down the field. Rehfuss connected with Owen Hiltz, who corralled the ball and fired a pass past Alex Rode with ease. It was the fourth goal from the Scanlan-Rehfuss-Hiltz attack, but it was Hiltz’s first of the night.

The rookie was a second-line midfielder last week, scoring once and recording an assist. But Saturday against UVA, head coach John Desko replaced attack Griffin Cook with Hiltz in the second game of the season. In his first career start, Hiltz scored three goals and two assists in No. 9 SU’s (1-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) 20-10 win over No. 2 Virginia (3-1, 0-1). 

“He’s a really smart player,” Rehfuss said. “He doesn’t play like a freshman, doesn’t act like a freshman at all.”

Like the rest of the attack, Hiltz had a slow start to the game. Rode saved 10 of SU’s 19 shots on goal in the first half, and Hiltz finished the first half with three shots on goal — all saved by Rode.

But the second half was a different story.

After Hiltz scored seconds into the second half, he scored twice more, joining three other teammates who scored three goals in SU’s upset win. As the game wound down, Rehfuss was behind the cage with the ball. With a defender on his right, he made a long pass to Hiltz on his left, who was yards away from the goal. Unguarded, Hiltz fired a sidearm shot from deep that connected with the bottom left-hand corner to give Syracuse a historic 10-goal lead over Virginia.

“He can dodge. He can shoot. He can feed. (He’s) really just a mature player and definitely one of the best freshmen in the country, no doubt,” Rehfuss said.

Though Hiltz finished with one only caused turnover, Hiltz and Scanlan put pressure on Virginia in transition, keeping the ball in Virginia’s zone and giving the Cavaliers fewer scoring opportunities. Hiltz said that off-ball movement is one of his strengths, and as an attack, he and Scanlan worked together on the ride to hold Virginia in check.

“They kind of just put me at attack in the middle and just kind of work off-ball with Chase, who did a good job distracting those deep poles from the middle for our middies to get around,” Hiltz said.

Desko told the team that Hiltz would be starting at attack earlier this week during practice. But that wasn’t a surprise — or even much of a change — for the team. Hiltz’s natural position is attack, and he’s been lauded as one of the most talented attack recruits Syracuse has ever had. 

Hiltz has been practicing at attack all season, Rehfuss said. Though Cook got the start at attack in the season-opener, Hiltz has been practicing all spring and even a bit during fall ball.

When it came to this week’s lineup, though, Desko said he and assistant coach Pat March made the decision to start Hiltz because of his ability to finish the ball, something Syracuse wanted to emphasize against UVA. Hiltz, a leftie, also serves as a nice left-side complement to the right-handed Rehfuss and Scanlan. 

Despite Hiltz’s success Saturday, though, Desko refused to say if he would commit to him at attack long-term. He said Cook hadn’t done anything wrong, despite losing the starting job to Hiltz. Desko had nothing but praise postgame for his freshman’s offensive abilities.

“Owen’s a very good finisher and we just felt, especially with our midfield play, that our attack would have some opportunities there,” Desko said. “I think Owen did a good job. He’s going to be a very good player for us.”

Published on February 27, 2021 at 11:43 pm

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