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STONY BROOK, N.Y — After Syracuse’s loss to Johns Hopkins — a defeat that pushed Syracuse outside Inside Lacrosse’s rankings for the first time since 2019 — Tucker Dordevic stared blankly into space, hands on his head and was fairly blunt about what he believed was his worst performance of the season.

“I personally did not play well. I take blame for a lot of the f-ups on offense,” he said.

Six days later, against a Stony Brook team on the bubble of the top 20 rankings, Dordevic single-handedly helped shift what seemed to be another back-and-forth game for the Orange into a second half offensive outpour that lifted the Orange to their third win of the season.

After Syracuse trailed 2-1 midway through the first quarter, Dordevic carried the ball down the right wing, pausing as he was pressured by a Stony Brook defender. He turned on the half-spin to dodge his defender before unleashing a sidearm shot to tie the game.

Then in the second half, Syracuse (3-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) scored eight unanswered goals, propelling it to a 14-9 win over Stony Brook (5-3, 1-0 America East) on Saturday. Dordevic scored five during that stretch, allowing him to reach career highs in all scoring categories with nine points, six goals and three assists to bring his season point total to 35, also a career best with seven games remaining.

“Tucker’s two-handed, super athletic (and) can shoot it. When he’s out there, it’s tough,” Stony Brook head coach Anthony Gilardi said. “He’s really good at getting shots off, and he’s definitely one of the best players in the country.”

Dordevic was held to only that one game-tying point early on in the first half but helped ignite a late first-period attack that turned out to become crucial as Syracuse approached the second half. After Stony Brook tied the game at three with 38 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Jakob Phaup won the ensuing faceoff, giving SU one last chance to score in the final 10 seconds.

The ball found Dordevic, whose high pass toward midfield reset possession as the clock wound down. Mikey Berkman recovered the loose ball and heaved a long pass to Brendan Curry 10 yards away from goal, and with 2.4 seconds on the clock, Curry dodged left out of pressure and gave the Orange a crucial 4-3 lead after a back-and-forth first quarter.

Syracuse’s top line, led by Dordevic, generated each of its scoring opportunities, with the starters contributing to all 14 goals on Saturday. Much of the Orange’s play was orchestrated around finding options behind the net and making passes across the crease to catch the Seawolves late on the slide.

Syracuse’s opening goal showed just that, as Dordevic held the ball on the right wing and was pressured by a Stony Brook defender. He took the ball just beyond the crease, looking back to see Berkman rushing in. Berkman’s defender was drawn toward Dordevic, leaving him wide-open for a shot that went past Anthony Palma.

“It was a really, really fun game,” Dordevic said. “Our offense played really well. I kind of just happened to be at the end of a lot of it. I can’t just say it was all me — the majority of it was my teammates, and I just happened to be the beneficiary of a bunch of good passes.”

Owen Seebold, who was involved in much of Syracuse’s offensive buildup in his usual spot behind the net, didn’t record his first point until late in the third quarter. After averaging three points in as many games to start the season, Seebold has only notched three points over his last two games, where he recorded just one goal in each game. But his first goal of the game, which came on his sixth shot, was one that extended Syracuse’s third quarter lead amid a 5-1 run.

On one play, Curry sprinted toward the endline alongside Stony Brook’s Michael Sabella, outmuscling him to secure the ground ball for Syracuse. He sprinted inside and found Pete Fiorini, who immediately dished it to Dordevic. Dordevic hesitated for a brief second, looking for a pass before he saw Berkman pointing toward the net, motioning him to shoot. His shot went low to Palma’s right and gave Syracuse its biggest lead to that point, 9-6.

Dordevic nearly matched Syracuse’s scoring total from its loss to Johns Hopkins, where it was held to seven goals against the Blue Jays, its lowest figure since 2019. Dordevic still managed a hat trick against the Blue jays but shot a season-low 33.9%.

His second-half performance Saturday ignited the redemption Syracuse needed after one of its worst offensive showings of the season. He helped the Orange gain their third and final lead of the game in the third quarter, finding Curry in the slot for a low, off-balanced shot that sailed past Palma’s right leg to put SU up 7-6.

Then, he finished his scoring with his sixth goal of the game, scoring Syracuse’s seventh of its 8-0 second half run. He charged right, stopped and spun back along the right wing before firing yet another signature sidearm shot that beat Palma and secured his career high.

Gilardi acknowledged that Stony Brook knew Dordevic was going to be a major threat for Syracuse, but when asked about how it was executed, the third-year head coach left it pretty simple.

“Didn’t work, whatever it was,” Gilardi said with a chuckle.

Published on March 19, 2022 at 5:27 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu