BIG CITY BUMMER: Galloway struggles in net as Syracuse’s five-game winning streak ends
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – As John Galloway headed to the sidelines after the final buzzer Saturday, the post-game celebration erupted on the other end of the field. Princeton goalie Tyler Fiorito jumped into the arms of one of his defenders, then the rest of the Tigers rushed onto the field and engulfed their goalie.
Galloway, instead, could only slap hands with his teammates. There was no reason for the sophomore to celebrate, just time to reflect on what had just transpired.
‘I let the guys down on a lot of shots at the beginning of the game and I was hoping to make some big saves at the end and I couldn’t make one,’ Galloway said in reference to a late Princeton goal. ‘And it is something we’re going to have to learn from and move on from.’
Syracuse and Galloway struggled Saturday as the No. 2 Orange fell to No. 5 Princeton, 12-8, in the Big City Classic here in front of 22, 308 fans at windy Giants Stadium. Galloway made seven saves in the losing effort while yielding goals to shots from angles, while Fiorito made 15 in the upset that sent SU to its third-straight loss in events sponsored by Inside Lacrosse.
The goalies provided an easy mirror through which to view this game. Princeton forced Syracuse to work tirelessly for shots and space on offense. Conversely, the Tigers broke down the Orange defense and ripped open shots at Syracuse’s suddenly struggling goalie. Galloway has allowed 25 goals in the past two games.
‘Obviously, I have a lot of weaknesses, pick anyone you want, write it down, I don’t really care,’ Galloway said. ‘I need to work on a lot of things, that is something I’m going to have to work on.’
Despite being outshot by Syracuse 39-31, Princeton found ways to effectively set up its shots. In the first half, Princeton converted on five of its eight shots on goals to take a 5-3 lead into the half. Things only snowballed after halftime.
In the second half, Princeton converted on 7-of-11 shots, perhaps none bigger than during Syracuse’s man-up possession with the Orange trailing by one Kenny Nims held the ball behind the cage, but overthrew Dan Hardy, and Princeton midfielder John Lesko scooped the ball up.
Princeton’s Tommy Davis then found Brendan Reilly open near the crease and Reilly beat Galloway with a bounce shot to make it 8-6 with 4:22 left in the third quarter. Princeton added four more goals in the second half on a variety of shots to win the game.
‘We can’t let them unload those guys that can shoot from 10 to 12 feet as accurately and has hard as they can,’ Syracuse head coach John Desko said. ‘We can’t let them give up those kind of shots. We needed to slide up a little bit early and take those away and again they played well and shot the ball extremely well today.’
But on the other end of the field, Fiorito played like a seasoned veteran. Fiorito made key saves throughout the contest. He stopped several close-range Syracuse shots. In the second half, the freshman had seven saves.
Princeton head coach Bill Tierney said the play between Galloway and Fiorito was not the difference in the game, but said that his goalie made some saves that otherwise would have changed the whole complexion of the contest.
‘I thought their goalie played very well, I thought ours played good,’ Tierney said. ‘Their kid won a national title as a freshman so I think we’ve had some games where we shot very well and we shot well against Albany and we shot well today. John’s a heck of a goalie and an athlete too.’
The last time Galloway played in an NFL Stadium, he won a national title. This time, he heads out after one of his worst games of the season. He will have little time to ponder his mistakes. No. 4 Cornell heads into the Carrier Dome for a showdown on Tuesday night.
‘I think (our slides) have been lacking the past two weeks and we take a lot of pride in what we do on that side of the field,’ Galloway said. ‘And we let a lot of guys down. We’re going in Tuesday and we can’t focus on this game.’
