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Usually, Joey Spallina embarks on a solo mission to the X, ready to loft the ball over or to the side of the cage whenever there’s an open teammate. But with three minutes left in the first quarter, Griffin Cook joined in for the journey.

Cook immediately set a pick for Spallina, but he couldn’t get a clean look. The Orange reset their offense, this time giving possession to Cook at the X. Spallina screened Cook’s defender, allowing Cook to curl toward the right side of the crease. He kept his stick high, faked once and bounced the ball into the back of the net.

“Teams have tried plenty of different things,” Spallina said about opponents combatting the Orange’s play from the X. “We’re just able to take what they’re doing and execute what we’ve been doing in practice.”

The Bonnies were the latest victim of the Orange’s strength from the X. Syracuse (5-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) coasted to a 22-6 win over St. Bonaventure (1-7, 1-2 Atlantic 10 Conference) by repeatedly kick-starting their offense from behind the cage. It wasn’t just Spallina back there this time as Cook and John Cohen dominated at the position as well.

Spallina knows that teams are studying what he does from the X this year, which is why he’s seen so many different looks from opposing defenses. But he studies them as well, watching film before seeing how they react on the first possession. Immediately, the Bonnies were outmatched.

Alex Simmons scored unassisted less than a minute into the game before Jackson Birtwistle gave the Orange a 2-1 lead eight minutes later. With the success SU was finding from in front of the cage, Michael Leo wound up from the middle of the field, firing low from 10 yards out.

Leo’s shot bounced off the right pipe and Owen Hiltz fought through a scrum to pick up the ball. Spallina had been behind the cage throughout the entire possession and Hiltz finally gave him the chance to make a play. He located Finn Thomson wide open at the crease on the other side, leading an easy tap-in goal.

Following Cook’s first score, he continued to work in tandem with Spallina, venturing behind the cage less than three minutes into the second quarter. Spallina pulled two Bonnies’ defenders toward him, leaving Cook completely open on the left side of the cage. Once he realized he was unmarked, Cook jogged to the front of the goal and scored low again.

“As the season’s gone on, Joey and I and the rest of the team have developed better chemistry,” Cook said. “I’m excited to do that and continue to grow as a team.”

With three minutes left in the first half, Spallina dished Hiltz his second goal of the night from his normal spot. Spallina held the ball behind the cage and saw Hiltz lift his stick to call for the ball on the right side. Hiltz caught the ball and immediately ripped it, perfectly dragging his left foot on the turf in the process. He finished with three goals and an assist.

Hiltz’s goal gave the Orange a comfortable 8-3 lead going into halftime. But after the Pride scored four straight goals to open last week’s game against SU, head coach Gary Gait challenged his team to maintain its intensity to stop a potential comeback attempt.

“I encouraged them at halftime, ‘let’s not go three-fourths speed. Let’s show that we can go out and play hard,’” Gait said. “They did, we had a great third quarter.”

The success in the second half was partially due to Syracuse keeping its offensive strategy. Spallina returned to the X midway through the third quarter, holding onto the ball while looking for an open teammate. Luke Rhoa bolted down the middle of the field, cutting to the right of the cage where he was left with some open space.

Spallina flipped it to Rhoa, who whipped his stick behind his back to give the Orange an 11-3 lead.

“They were getting open and I was finding them,” Spallina said.

John Cohen came into the game and played a role similar to Cook, taking his turn to go to the X with five minutes left in the third. He curled along the crease, tossing the ball over the cage to Spallina, who was right at the doorstep. The pass was perfectly timed, and Spallina hopped into his score.

Spallina and the rest of the starters headed to the bench at the start of the fourth quarter but the Orange continued to attack from the X. Cohen completely replaced Spallina at the spot, staying five yards behind the goal with eight minutes left.

Cohen kept his stick ready to receive a pass, shuffling to the left side of the goal to finally collect one from Carter Kempney. He immediately turned and tossed the ball over the goal to Pete Fiorini, who ripped his left shot into the back of the net.

“All of the guys who got opportunities in the second half stepped up and did a great job,” Gait said.

Published on March 21, 2023 at 10:22 pm

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