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Jamie Trimboli ran up, paused and looked for an open teammate. He found Owen Seebold in front of the goal and fired the pass. Seebold took a sidearm shot at Virginia goaltender Alex Rode, who stood strong. Rode made contact, but the ball bounced off his knee and into the goal to give Syracuse a 6-2 second-quarter lead.

No. 5 Virginia was already a favorite heading into its Saturday matchup against No. 11 Syracuse. The Orange were coming off a 12-goal loss to North Carolina and had fallen out of the top 10 in the rankings. On Tuesday, leading goal scorer Chase Scanlan was suspended indefinitely. But the Orange (6-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) offense held their own, scoring 13 goals in a win against Virginia (10-4, 2-4). Without Scanlan, five Syracuse players scored multiple goals, including season-best performances from Seebold and Trimboli.

“(Trimboli) gets others involved in the offense, so nice going down the stretch that he’s been able to come alive,” head coach John Desko said.

Trimboli was a first-team All-American in 2020, averaging four points per game. But the senior has been quiet this season, scoring just 11 goals in nine starts on the first-line midfield. He’s been unlucky, too, with 17 of his 31 shots on goal this season ending in saves by the opposing goalie, the highest percentage of saved shots on the team.

But Saturday, Trimboli looked more like his 2020 self than he has in the previous nine games. He scored three times, a season-high, and added an assist on Seebold’s goal.

In the second period, Trimboli had two defenders standing between him and the net. He received a pass from Brendan Curry and shot through traffic, threading the needle to find a perfect pass to the goal, putting Syracuse up 6-2.

“He got those goals and scored from the outside and (was a) pretty accurate shooter today,” Desko said.

Seebold, on the other hand, was making his first career start after four years with the Orange. He had been the fourth attack for his entire Syracuse career before making the switch to second-line midfield this year at Syracuse. Earlier this season, he scored a career-high two goals in the first game against Virginia, then continued to match it against Duke, Notre Dame and Virginia again on Saturday.

He also added two assists on goals by fellow attackmen Owen Hiltz and Stephen Rehfuss on Saturday. Seebold said that it was easy to play with the two of them and he was always ready to jump in for Scanlan.

Earlier this week, Seebold found out that he was going to start in Scanlan’s place and seized the opportunity, he said. He pulled Hiltz and Rehfuss to the side in their first practice to ask how he could best mesh with their unit and not upset the chemistry the two had built and maintained all season.

It took several days to figure it out, but Seebold said that the offense eventually got flowing in practice. Seebold had practiced at attack all season, so he wasn’t thrown into a completely new situation with plays and teammates he was unfamiliar with, he said.

That meshing together showed in the way the attack unit played. After a single-man clear by Peter Dearth, Seebold found himself with the ball near the midfield line. Rather than try to run toward the goal himself or explore his options, he quickly found Hiltz open. Hiltz fired toward Rode, who never stood a chance, as Hiltz added his second of the day to extend Syracuse’s lead to 7-2.

“Me and Steve have both been here for a long time, and Hiltz is a great player who just can pick it up whenever,” Seebold said. “It really didn’t take too long for us to get our chemistry going this week.”

With one game left before a potential NCAA tournament run and no timetable for return for Scanlan, players such as Seebold and Trimboli stepping up on offense is important to get the team going, Desko said.

Scanlan’s seven goals against Holy Cross are the highest single-game total for anyone on the team this season. His four goals and assist against Duke were instrumental in the comeback that came down to a last-second save by Mike Adler. He’s been one of the most clutch players for the Orange all season, but he wasn’t missed much against Virginia. Seebold’s four points on attack served the Orange just fine.

“In terms of offense as a whole, not much really changed,” Seebold said when asked about the difference between him and Scanlan. “I was just happy to go out there and play the best.”

Published on April 24, 2021 at 5:22 pm

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