EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The scene was the same. Kevin Rice sat behind the net, watching Syracuse’s offense develop. On a day where JoJo Marasco was largely taken out of the equation, the focal point of the Orange’s offense shifted behind John Kemp.

Rice popped up to the left side of the net. Kemp slid over and the right side of the net opened up. Just enough room for Dylan Donahue.

Donahue charged to the net for the easy feed from Rice and the easy goal on the empty net.

No. 7 SU (11-3, 5-1 Big East) used the exact same play for two straight goals in the fourth quarter of its 10-4 win over No. 1 Notre Dame (10-3, 4-2 Big East) on Saturday at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The first stretched Syracuse’s lead to 7-4, and the second put the game out of reach. The win clinches a share of the Big East regular-season title, and gives Syracuse the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament, where it’ll face Notre Dame again next week.

For most of the day on Saturday, it was a defensive struggle. Syracuse and Notre Dame were scoreless through a full quarter.

The Orange’s offense continued to slosh through the second quarter, with a Hakeem Lecky tally the lone score for SU. Meanwhile, Matt Kavanagh and Notre Dame were building a lead.

With the game tied at one, Westy Hopkins burned Matt Pratt along the crease to score in close. Less than a minute later, Kavanagh stretched the Fighting Irish’s lead to two with an underhand shot past David Hamlin.

Kavanagh, UND’s leading scorer as a freshman, flashed the explosiveness that has allowed him to dominate all season long, but Hamlin was able to contain the shifty attack for most of the second half. Kavanagh scored a goal late in the third quarter to tie the game at three, but Hamlin otherwise held him in check.

But in the fourth quarter, it was the SU offense that finally clicked. Donahue scored a hat trick, including the two from Rice, to put the Fighting Irish out of reach. The floodgates were open. Kemp appeared rattled, and the Orange started scoring from the outside. Lecky and Scott Loy each added a pair of 10-yard scores to put a bow on SU’s six-goal final frame.

Published on April 27, 2013 at 8:58 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2