Although the Syracuse offense scored seven unanswered goals in the second half against Binghamton, the SU defense was the unsung hero. The defense held the Bearcats’ offense to one goal in the latter portion of the game, making it impossible for Binghamton to rebound from its three-goal halftime deficit.

‘We just pressed more,’ SU defender Sid Smith said. ‘We forced them to move the ball around more quickly and weren’t letting them sit back as much as we did in the first half.’

Smith and the rest of the SU defense dismantled the Bearcat attack that in the first half rejoiced with its temporary one-goal lead over the No. 2 team in the nation. The Binghamton attack was ineffective in the second half, and Syracuse defeated the Bearcats, 13-4, at the Carrier Dome Saturday.

The four goals allowed is the second-least the Orange has contained opponents to this season. Providence scored one fewer goal than the Bearcats Feb. 15 in Syracuse’s season-opening win.

Syracuse held Binghamton to seven second-half shots, taking away any chance the Bearcats had to rebound from a three-goal deficit at halftime. Syracuse held Binghamton scoreless for the final 28:33 minutes of play.

Smith, John Lade, Matt Tierney and the rest of the SU defense were able to bully the Binghamton attack due to larger physical build. Smith used his 6-foot frame to block the smaller Binghamton attack, including 5-foot-8 Jake Boyce, who tied as Binghamton’s leading scorer for the day with one goal.

‘We definitely had a big size advantage,’ Smith said. ‘We tried to use our size and strength to push them back, but you don’t want to be too aggressive and let the smaller guys get under you.’

The trio hacked at the Binghamton attacks’ sticks, creating turnovers and not allowing the Bearcats to sit on the ball and control the tempo of the game.

Lade, the smallest of the three SU defenders at 5 feet 9 inches, marked Binghamton’s leading scorer, Andy Cook, for most of the game. Lade held Cook pointless, as Cook only managed three shots the entire contest.

Syracuse dominated in ground balls behind, 41-25, led by seven by Matt Abbott and a season-high six by Lade.

Goalie John Galloway assisted the defensive efforts with nine saves, including five in the first quarter when Binghamton had the lead. The rest of the defense made it easy for the sophomore goaltender by limiting the shots Binghamton took. When the Bearcats did get a shot off in the second half, they were generally sloppy and only one converted into a goal.

‘I think our defense played pretty good,’ Syracuse head coach John Desko said. ‘The game plan going in was to create turnovers.’

Desko said the defense came out reserved in the first half, allowing the momentary Binghamton lead. The slow start for the defense didn’t help things on the other side of the field, as the offense struggled to find answers for the Bearcat unusual zone defense.

After building up a three-point lead going into halftime, the defense made an extra effort to shut down the Bearcat attack and put the game away by using aggressive play to help cement the Orange’s lead.

Desko said he and the rest of the team expected to have a larger lead early on, so during halftime, the team refocused.

‘I thought we were somewhat tentative early on,’ Desko said. ‘I think in the second half we were more aggressive, created some turnovers more. … I think we finally settled down and came to play in the second half.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on March 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm