Men's Lacrosse

No. 1 Syracuse pulls out 9-7 win over No. 13 Colgate behind 2 late goals from Nicky Galasso

Logan Reidsma | Asst. Photo Editor

Nicky Galasso celebrates with Henry Schoonmaker after a Syracuse goal on Saturday. Two late Galasso goals gave the Orange some breathing room, as No. 1 Syracuse held on in a 9-7 win over No. 13 Colgate.

HAMILTON, N.Y. – With 34 seconds remaining in the game, an Anthony Abbadessa shot sailed wide of the goal and Syracuse won the backup. Colgate fans began booing and chanting “bullsh*t.” Bobby Wardwell jogged off the field for a timeout, fist-bumping teammates as Syracuse lead by two.

The scene stood in stark contrast to any prior one when the Orange came off the field, as the first 56-plus minutes saw SU struggle to gain more than a one-goal advantage.

“I think we just came out a little slow,” midfielder Nicky Galasso said. “They played a zone defense when our first midfield line was in there and they’d switch it up and go to man. They had great schemes.”

Syracuse bent, but didn’t break, even as the Raiders took a two-goal lead twice in the first 30 minutes. After an offensive adjustment during a second-quarter timeout shifted Syracuse’s fortunes, the Orange never trailed by more than one for the rest of the game.

And like he did in the conference tournament, Galasso converted when it mattered most. With the game tied at seven in the fourth, the senior ripped off two goals to give the No. 1 Orange (12-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) its first true cushion in an eventual 9-7 win over No. 13 Colgate (10-5, 6-2 Patriot) on Saturday afternoon in front of 5,310 at Andy Kerr Stadium.



“That’s how Nicky’s been playing all year,” attack Kevin Rice said. “That’s what we expect from him. He just puts himself in the right spots to make plays.”

But to start the game, it wasn’t the fist pumps and boisterous jumping that filled the Orange sideline when the final buzzer sounded.

Matt Clarkson put Colgate on the board first with a bullet from the right alley. And after Rice bounced one in from the left doorstep to tie the game, Clarkson dazzled with a behind-the-back goal. It sent the home sideline into a frenzy as a small mob of Raiders piled on top of a backup goalie in front of the benches.

With the Orange trailing 5-4 with 5:33 left in the second quarter, head coach John Desko called a timeout. The Raiders were stifling Syracuse with a zone defense against SU’s first-line midfield and a man-to-man against the second unit.

So SU inserted Galasso, now with three-straight hat tricks, and made a slight systematic adjustment, resulting in two goals within 27 seconds of each other to put the Orange back on top.

“We put Nicky in on a substitution for Sergio (Salcido) and they went right back into the zone which we though they might,” Desko said. “We just changed our zone offense off the timeout and that’s why we got a couple of the quick shots that we did.”

At the start of the second half, though, the early first-half tone was rearing itself again.

Rice was checked to the ground and held his wrist for a brief period of time before getting back up. SU Fifth-string goalie Tyler Avallone put his hands on his head and leaned back on the sideline after a penalty he thought was called on SU was called on Colgate. And after two of Syracuse’s best players, Brandon Mullins and Rice, stood next to each other in the penalty box, a nitty gritty game seemed to be getting the best of the Orange.

But Peter Macartney swiftly killed off the two-man disadvantage and Dylan Donahue scored shortly thereafter to tie the game at seven.

The score remained knotted at seven until Galasso unleashed a left-handed shot that found the top-right corner after finding a seam in the zone. He thrust his right arm up in celebration and was mobbed by five teammates near the Raiders goal.

And just minutes later, he did the same. The goal gave Syracuse its first real cushion and an escape from a potential trap game leading into the NCAA tournament. But this time, Galasso reacted in a more tame manner.

After all, it’s become commonplace as of late for the resurgent senior.

Said Desko: “Nicky’s just been sucking it up and playing great down the stretch.”





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