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As Syracuse head coach Gary Gait sat at the podium postgame, all he could do was crack a smile after being asked how Army attacked Syracuse’s short-stick midfielders. Gait’s eyes widened before uttering a response.

“Attack it was an understatement,” Gait said.

Army berated Syracuse’s short-stick middies throughout the game and it was only fitting that the game-winning goal came while exploiting a mismatch. Less than 30 seconds after Christian Mulé missed a wide-open goal in overtime, Army set up its offense. Jackson Eicher controlled the ball from X and received a screen from Reese Burek as Carter Rice switched onto him.

The attack made his way inside before spinning to his back shoulder but saw Matt Wright come over in an attempt to support. Eicher shifted his hips, took a step and fired past Will Mark as multiple Syracuse defenders fell to the turf in disbelief.

Eicher’s game-winning goal encapsulated No. 7 Syracuse’s defensive issues in its 14-13 overtime loss to No. 5 Army. All night, SU’s short-stick midfielders were isolated against Black Knight attackers who took advantage. Spearheaded by Eicher and Burek’s four-point performances, Army’s attack created mismatches with its two-man game and Syracuse had no answer. Everyone contributed for Army. Of its six goal scorers, five of them had at least three points as the Black Knights continuously punished the Orange for sloppy wing defense and slow defensive slides.

During his weekly media availability Gait knew Army was going to be physical and use its athleticism to its advantage. Gait reiterated his point after the loss, joking that Army ran “through, over our guys” while adding how they’re a physical team with and without the ball.

Whenever the Black Knights controlled the ball at X or on the wings, its first instinct was to find the short-stick matchup and SU could do nothing to stop it. The pressure was constant and persisted up to the final touch of the game when Eicher scored the winner.

“They put a ton of pressure on our short sticks and we just made one too many mistakes on backing up the short sticks and we started getting out of our slide pattern a little bit,” Gait said.

Tied 5-5 early in the second quarter, Army set up its offense right in front of its bench. Bailey O’Connor drew Vinnie Trujillo and easily blew by him. As O’Connor approached Mark in net, Billy Dwan came over to cut down the angle. But Dwan’s primary defender was Eicher who flashed wide open to the middle and proceeded to put Army up 6-5.

But Eicher’s goal was Army’s lone in the second quarter as Syracuse scored five out of six goals to gain an 8-6 halftime lead. The Black Knight’s offense stalled because it deviated from what was working, Army head coach Joe Elberci emphasized postgame.

Elberci explained his team was getting favorable looks, but instead of being aggressive, they backed out to the corners and stayed passive. But once Army got into its sets and “worked within the offense” it regained its fire from the first quarter where it scored five goals.

“When we were really at our best when we were isolating the short stick through the motion of our offense,” Elberci said.

Even with Army’s ability to create disadvantages for Syracuse, it held strong and led 10-8 with five minutes left in the third quarter. Jacob Morin received the ball on the wing with a long pole guarding him. He quickly fired to Burek at X where before swinging the ball to Eicher who drew a short stick. Eicher didn’t hesitate when he saw Trujillo again. He took two steps before unleashing a shot past Mark to get Army within one.

Nearly three minutes later, O’Connor dashed up the alley, gaining a step on Nate LeVine. Riley Figueiras slid over as Eicher received the ball at X. In the space left by Figueiras, Burek flashed to the middle for an easy finish as Army cut Syracuse’s lead to one.

Army exploiting Syracuse on the wing forced players to slide to the middle which left gaps in the defense. Gait highlighted Syracuse’s weakness in the middle of the field and backed up its short sticks.

“They got two, three easy goals in the middle. When we’re organized and we’re communicating better, we have that person there.”

The Orange didn’t learn from their mistakes because 45 seconds later Army tied the game for the first time since the second quarter. O’Connor coasted past Jake Spallina and once again drew a slide. Evan Plunkett — who registered a game-high five points — was wide open for a step-down.

In the fourth quarter after Syracuse regained the lead, but Army continued the trend of picking the right time to attack. First Gunnar Fellows tied the game by attacking Trujillo before Morin put Army in front doing the same, this time against LeVine.

In overtime, Army went back to the basics. Syracuse’s defense scrambled after Burek and Fellows’ efforts were deflected before Eicher picked the ball up at X. He scanned his options and went to work. Once he got a short stick on him the result was all but decided.

“That happens sometimes players step up and make a huge play and win games like that,” Gait said of Eicher’s game-winner. “The plan was to make a save, get a stop, get it down the other end and score unfortunately didn’t happen.”

Published on February 29, 2024 at 12:03 am

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22