No. 7/8 Syracuse lost its second game to a top 10 opponent in overtime, this time losing to No. 5 Army, 14-13, on Wednesday.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Playing through physicality
The matchup against Army was, and most likely will remain, the most physical game Syracuse has played this season.
Nothing came easy this game for Syracuse. SU came in second in the country in faceoffs at 19.8 per game, but they finished with only 14.
It was similar story in other areas of the stat sheet.
SU leads the country in groundballs per game at 41.6, but they ended with only 30.
Overall, groundballs were split down the middle (31-30 in favor of Army), and Army actually won the faceoff battle (17-14).
Offensive versatility
Army's game plan was to not allow attackman Joey Spallina beat them.
Spallina was second in the country in points per game at 7.2, but didn't score against the Black Knights, and only had two assists. Army also pressured Spallina into a team-high four turnovers.
Syracuse's other top scorer, Owen Hiltz, was held to a single goal (though it was the goal that knotted the game at 13).
With the Spallina-Hiltz connection negated, Syracuse turned to an interesting trio of Sam English, Jackson Birtwistle, and Christian Mule.
The three combined for nine goals on 18 shots, creating looks off screens, which has been an underutilized tactic this season.
It showed Syracuse's versatility on a rare occasion where Spallina wasn't churning the offense.
Competing with the best
Two top 10 matchups and two devastating overtime losses for the Orange.
The glass-half full outlook is that the team, which is mostly led by transfers and sophomores, are taking top 10 teams to sudden death. Both teams (Maryland and Army) were ranked in the top 5, but SU was nonplussed, taking the Terps and the Knights to the final moments.
On the other hand, six games through the season, Syracuse still doesn't have a quality win despite two opportunities.
Syracuse still has a handful of opportunities for wins, with upper echelon opponents Johns Hopkins, Duke, Notre Dame, and Virginia still left on the schedule.
The Orange must learn from these two tough losses and learn how to win marquee matchups down the stretch.
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