SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A nine-goal lead for Notre Dame at halftime seemed to have finally sunk Syracuse before it even had a chance to lead a patented late-game comeback.

In the previous three games, the Orange had come back from four-goal deficits with fourth-quarter runs, winning all three. But after getting crushed by the Irish in the first 30 minutes, the game felt truly out of reach.

No. 8 Syracuse (5-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) lost, 13-10. The Orange got behind by too much, too early, to come back and top No. 12 Notre Dame (5-3, 1-1) on Saturday at Arlotta Stadium. The Irish rode strong performances from their attack and built too big a lead for SU to ultimately overcome.

Comeback falls short, finally

Syracuse had been walking the tightrope for three-straight games. Going down, clawing back and eking out wins. It was bound to backfire eventually.

Down by eight at the half, SU seemed fully doomed. Notre Dame dominated possession, shots and turnovers in the first half. The Orange barely played any offense.

But the Orange rode a seven-goal run spanning nearly two quarters to make the game as close as 11-9. It seemed, for a minute, as if the Orange would test their opponent again. Inevitably, though, Notre Dame kept SU at arms length long enough to come out on top.

First half hat tricks

Bryan Costabile’s shot whipped past Drake Porter’s head, rippling the twine behind it and prompting a roar from the green-and-gold clad fans at Arlotta Stadium. With 8:32 remaining in the second quarter, Costabile had just wrapped up a first-half hat trick and put the Irish ahead, 8-1.

A little more than four minutes later, Brendan Gleason hugged a mob of teammates as he notched a third score to put the Fighting Irish ahead, 11-2, completing his first-half hat trick. By games end, Costabile finished with five goals as Gleason tallied three and an assist himself.

The one-two punch of Costabile and Gleason buried the Orange early and finished them off late. Costabile racked up two goals in a row to quell a seven-goal run from SU that shrank the Irish lead to two.

From start to finish, when they needed a goal, the Irish went to one of the two, usually with good results.

Goalie swap

After allowing 11 goals in a half and making only six saves, SU junior goalie Drake Porter was benched in favor of redshirt sophomore Luke Strang.

Porter, who has played nearly every minute for the Orange this season, put in his worst half of work on Saturday, struggling to stop open look after open look. A fair share of blame rests with the defense for the poor performance, but Strang’s second half made the switch worth it.

Strang started the second half by walling off the Irish entirely in the third quarter, making saves on long shots high in the corner, bounces and door-step jams. When it came his way, he saved it, for the most part.

Eventually, the Irish went to the man up, when Costabile closed the game, but until that point, Strang held firm, showing he’s every bit as capable in net.

Published on March 30, 2019 at 2:21 pm

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham