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On Syracuse’s second offensive possession against Albany, Stephen Rehfuss drifted to X and fired a pass that flew well over Lucas Quinn’s head. It kept dribbling along the Carrier Dome turf, going across the midway line for an over-and-back violation and an automatic turnover.

Moments later, this time with Jacob Buttermore at X, a voice from the sideline shouted “Lucas cut.” In front of the second-line midfielder, the Syracuse offense looked stagnant. Buttermore’s eventual shot was high, then Quinn’s ensuing effort was wide, and the possession ended in an Owen Hiltz turnover.

“This time of year, you don’t want to have the turnovers that we had,” head coach John Desko said after SU’s 14 turnovers on Thursday evening.

The Orange’s (5-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) offense did enough to secure a 13-8 win over Albany (5-3, 3-2 America East), but for an offensive unit that’s been among the country’s best — ranking third in the nation in average turnovers prior to Thursday’s game and sixth in scoring offense — the outing was “a little sloppy,” Desko said. Attack Chase Scanlan said the Orange needed to limit their turnovers to single digits moving forward. But Syracuse’s offense “came alive in the second quarter” behind a 4-0 spurt that gave SU a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, and it played smarter during that span, Desko said.

The Orange notched 50 total shots and scored just 13 goals, though. The performance marked SU’s second-worst shooting percentage this season and its second-worst shots on goals percentage as well. Syracuse managed just one fourth-quarter goal despite leaving its starters in for much of the span.

“I didn’t think we were as crisp as we have been offensively,” Desko said postgame.

Against Duke and Notre Dame, despite losses, Desko emphasized that Syracuse’s offense did a decent job considering the number of possessions it had. SU’s faceoff specialists struggled to gain possession, and its defense struggled to get stops, so the high-octane offense was limited.

“As crazy as it sounds, we probably didn’t play that bad offensively for the amount of time we had the ball,” Desko said after SU’s offense managed 11 goals on 24 possessions against Notre Dame last weekend. The Orange’s shot percentage was third in the ACC entering the Albany contest as well.

Several Syracuse’s goals came right on the doorstep, from the edge of the crease. Albany’s goalie was swallowed by the ride as Rehfuss converted an easy goal on an empty net to put SU up 2-0 in the first quarter. Scanlan dodged past his defender in the third quarter and scored from point-blank range to stretch SU’s lead to four, up 12-8.

“I was able to get underneath him both times. He was playing my top-side hand so I was able to get underneath,” Scanlan said of the move, which he replicated earlier in the second quarter.

But Thursday, Syracuse’s offense wasn’t firing on the same cylinders as recent weeks. Rehfuss stumbled while trying to dodge one-on-one and fell on the turf as the Albany bench whooped. He recovered, but the possession ended in a Jamie Trimboli shot that was far too weak.

Scanlan whiffed a shot when the ball fell out of his stick in the third quarter. He was wide-open and looking for a pass from the usually-reliable Hiltz in the fourth quarter, but the freshman’s pass was tipped by a defender, and the opportunity had passed by the time SU recollected the ball.

“I thought a couple of individuals were a little sloppy tonight,” Desko said. “We tried to shoot before we caught the ball or forced a couple passes.”

Griffin Cook notched his first goal of the season on a highlight, behind-the-back play, but even that stemmed from some offensive scrappiness. Rehfuss fired a shot without realizing that Cook was right in his shooting lane, and the ball slammed into the back of Cook’s No. 2 jersey. The attack quickly located the ball on the turf and scooped it up before flipping it behind his back, a goal that caused the Syracuse bench to erupt into some of its loudest cheers of the night.

The Orange came alive in the second quarter, though, largely because of Rehfuss. The SU attack quarterbacked the offense during a 4-0 run. With the score tied at 4-4, he stood at X and surveyed the field. He watched as Hiltz, Quinn, Brendan Curry and the other members of the offense tried spin moves and runs into space to create shooting space. He waited patiently — without pressure — and eventually, Quinn uncovered.

Rehfuss delivered a precise pass, and Quinn slammed home the easy goal. He dished to Curry moments later for another goal as part of the period where SU’s offense looked most like the version of weeks prior.

“We started to score some goals in the second, and that was more comfortable,” Desko said.

In the first quarter, Hiltz fired a shot that bounced off goalie Liam Donnelly’s pads and trickled back into the field of play. The rebound fell at Hiltz’s feet, and in traffic, the freshman scooped up the loose ball and fired again. On most game days this season, Hiltz would slot the mid-range effort into the back of the net, and his goal song would ring through the Dome moments later. But Thursday, the shot continued rising, sailing over the top of the cage. It marked one of his five missed shots — and one of his team’s 37 — as part of a Syracuse offense that’s usually more efficient.

Published on April 8, 2021 at 9:57 pm

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16