The Syracuse Silver Knights took the Oncenter War Memorial Arena in front of 2,617 fans looking for their second win in as many games as they faced the rival Rochester Lancers.
The home side came out to a sluggish start on Sunday, and Rochester’s Garret Pettis put the visitors in front 4-0 with a pair of goals early in the first quarter. The Silver Knights slowly began to increase possession, and new signing Jamar Beasley scored in his first game as a Silver Knight with ten seconds left in the opening quarter on a transition pass from Neto.
Syracuse continued to gain momentum in the second quarter and Beasley was able to draw the home side even with a nifty chip shot after taking a transition through-ball from Kenardo Forbes. Syracuse native JD Gruenewald gave the Knights a 6-4 advantage going into the half after finishing off a pass from Bozidar Jelovac.
Syracuse took the field in the second half looking to dominate possession and quickly added to their lead as Beasley sent Forbes on the break who unselfishly slid the ball across to Andriy Budnyy for his first of two goals on the night, giving Syracuse an 8-4 advantage. The Knights continued to build on an enormous surge of momentum, and went on to score an additional three goals before the end of the third quarter, leading 14-4 going into the final frame.
Rochester was able to put a little uncertainty into the minds of the rowdy Knights’ fans early in the fourth as Pettis finished his hat-trick with a goal five minutes in. Syracuse was able to continue its dominating performance however, and went on to score four consecutive goals, including the last of three goals on the night from the Brazilian, Neto.
Last year’s MISL Rookie of the Year, Slavisa Ubiparipovic, was also able to contribute a goal and two assists in the final quarter. Goalkeeper Bryan O’Quinn, one of the Knights’ most dominating players so far this season, put forth another stellar performance, earning the win while stopping 14 of the 18 shots on goal in the game.
The Silver Knights finished the game 23-8 and earned their second consecutive victory after winning just one out of their first six contests. With Sunday’s win, Syracuse now sits at third place in the MISL standings behind Missouri and Baltimore.
After the game, Head Coach Tommy Tanner auctioned off the Knights' orange and blue "specialty" jerseys, raising several thousand dollars for the Crouse Health Foundation. The Silver Knights play at home again next Saturday as they host the Wichita Wings at the War Memorial at 7 p.m.
Courtesy: Syracuse Silver Knights
