Maryland Hangs on Against Syracuse; Wisnauskas Moves to 2nd All-Time in Career Points

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Terps were able to hold on and come away with a 14-10 win over #9 Syracuse. On Legends Days at the Dome where current head coach Gary Gait and former coach Roy Simmons Jr. were honored, Maryland made sure that it wasn’t a full day of celebrations.

Early on, it was the Logan Show. With McNaney holding down the cage on the defensive side, and Wisnauskas lighting the lamp and dishing out dimes, the 1st quarter was all about the Logan’s. McNaney made the saves when needed and ran out a couple of shots to give possession to the offense. Wisnauskas, who made his return to the Dome after starting his career with the Orange, scored twice in the opening frame as the Terps controlled possession.

Anthony DeMaio who has been quiet to begin the season, opened the scoring as he was able to score the man up goal after Syracuse was called for a penalty for releasing a previous penalty too early. Jack Brennan would make it 2-0 five minutes later after Owen Murphy found him on the skip pass.

The 2nd quarter was a continuation of the first, with DeMaio getting on the board a second time. Lucas Quinn ended Maryland’s run with a time and room shot from 12 yards out. Quinn and Tucker Dordevic were the stars of the show for the Orange, both of whom recorded 1st half hat tricks. The combination of the two scored all six of Syracuse’s goals in the 1st half, who slowly cut into the Terps lead, including two by Quinn in the final minute to make the score 7-6 heading into the break.

While the Orange controlled the 2nd quarter, Wisnauskas was able to hit another milestone, who got his 100th career assist on a goal by Jonathon Donville. Puglise added a goal in the 2ndquarter as well, scoring in transition to get his first of the season.

The second half began much like the first, with Maryland opening the scoring on a Kyle Long goal and controlling most of the 3rd quarter until the Orange were able to get two quick tallies by in the final minute by Jackson Birtwistle and Mikey Berkman who got Syracuse within a goal. Maryland was able to put the game away early in the 4th however with goals by WIsnauskas, Donville and Daniel Maltz to give the Terps a 12-8 lead.Dordevic who carried the Orange all game tried to get them back into the game with a high bouncer to make it 12-9, but Syracuse would not get any closer than 3 goals the rest of the way. Dordevic ended the day with 5 goals and an assist, leading all scorers. With 4 goals and an assist today, Wisnauskas is now 2nd all-time in program history in career goals and 3rd in career points. His hat trick is his third in three games to begin the season.

Overall, the game was an evenly matched game. The battle at the faceoff X ended almost 50/50, with Jakob Phaub holding a slight edge winning 15 of 28. Both teams struggled with turnovers, with Maryland having 16, eight of which were unforced.

Next up is #18 Princeton who just dispatched Monmouth 22-6 yesterday. Maryland will face the Ivy League foe back at home on Saturday, February 26th at 1 PM.