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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Gary Gait brought Jake Stevens and Sam English to Syracuse in May 2023, he identified their skill sets as an element his program “needed.” An ability to enumerate offensive production away from just Joey Spallina, diversify the faceoff unit with capable wings and fortify the defense made the two Princeton transfers enticing.

It was a move to help get the Orange back into the national conversation. And the expectations instantly multiplied. They were No. 7 on the preseason Inside Lacrosse poll and thought of as a potential dark horse in the Atlantic Coast Conference. From there, it was only a matter of time before SU’s augmented midfield would deliver. Gait could have predicted it.

“That’s something we didn’t have a lot of,” Gait said on Jan. 25 of his midfield additions. “So we’re feeling pretty good to have those guys.”

In the biggest moment of the season, and the biggest moment so far in the Gait era, Stevens was the one who broke through. The fifth-year midfielder exploded for a hat trick, which included two goals in crunch time to keep the opponent at bay. Stevens’s late-game heroics sealed the deal in No. 9 Syracuse’s (6-2, 0-0 ACC) 14-13 upset victory over No. 2 Johns Hopkins (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten). His performance provided damning signs that Stevens can slide in as the missing piece to SU’s puzzle of returning to prominence once again.

Though, it hadn’t looked like he would be until Saturday night. Stevens got off to a middling start to his Syracuse career. Across his first five appearances, he had five goals and three assists. All of that production came against low-quality foes like Vermont, Colgate, Manhattan and High Point. He was scoreless in an overtime loss to then-No. 4 Maryland. And he didn’t play due to an upper-body injury versus then-No. 5 Army — another overtime defeat.

Johns Hopkins gave Stevens a chance to start fresh. A chance to dispatch Gait’s second-ever top-10 win and first-ever top-five victory. As soon as he was called on to finish the job, Stevens did, while showing every reason why Gait desired him.

Midway into the fourth quarter, the Blue Jays had just ignited for two straight goals to cut their deficit to 12-10. On the ensuing faceoff, Mason Kohn beat Logan Callahan on the clamp and Stevens bolted from the wing to scoop the ground ball.

He then galloped toward the cage, weaving through a JHU midfield that seemed to be caught off-guard. Stevens made them pay. He reared his stick back — taking two large strides to wind up for the impending release — and uncorked a missile that flew past Johns Hopkins’s Chayse Ierlan. For Stevens, it was just what the moment called for. Pure aggressiveness. No hesitation.

“Like coach (Gait) says, winning is a learned skill,” Stevens said postgame. “You gotta learn how to do it and practice the situational stuff.”

There, Stevens created for himself. And he was one of Syracuse’s go-to options past midfield, totaling a season-high and team-best 10 shots. Though, he struggled on his attempts early, often ripping shots that sailed high above the net or bounced wide left or right.

But Stevens keeps the mentality of a midfielder. It’s not necessarily his duty to net an abundance of goals. When that does happen to Stevens, it’s just the flow of the game.

“I’m not thinking about (scoring). Obviously you want to score,” Stevens said. “You practice so much, I’ve played a lot of college lacrosse games, it just comes pretty naturally.”

At the 10:41 mark of the third — a quarter in which the Orange unloaded for eight goals — Owen Hiltz sent a pass from the right side to Stevens in the middle. Stevens received the feed, glided to his right and whipped a right-handed shot across his body. His first goal of the night gave SU a 7-5 advantage.

Then, fast forward to the aftermath of Stevens’s second goal. Johns Hopkins’s Dylan Bauer responded nine seconds later to trim Syracuse’s lead to 13-11 as the two sides traded scores. So, the Orange went right back to Stevens.

It happened nearly the same way his first goal did. Hiltz found a cutting Stevens amid the center of SU’s attacking zone. Once the ball landed in his stick, Stevens turned and fired a rocket into the top shelf, putting the Orange up 14-11 while clinching his first hat trick of the season.

His final goal gave Syracuse breathing room, something it usually lacks against the best of the best. The Blue Jays made it tight late but their final possession, which ended in a failed clear, took place with just 15 seconds remaining. There was no time to equalize Stevens’ two late goals.

“We were able to turn it back on and finish,” Gait said. “Jake had a couple (of goals) that were awesome. That really kept the momentum going.”

Spallina didn’t think Stevens’ outing took the weight off Syracuse’s attacking unit, though he acknowledged how important it is when every group contributes. Yet a weapon like Stevens — hardened by lacrosse’s top military academy and hungry from postseason defeats at Princeton — could be what the Orange need to replicate this type of success.

“I don’t think there’s particularly any pressure on the attack or middies,” Spallina said. “We all play together and the goal is to win together. If we all pull in the same direction, I think the outcomes will be like they were tonight.”

Published on March 9, 2024 at 11:52 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews