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Sam English does everything for Syracuse as a two-way midfielder. Along with rarely coming off the field by playing both offense and defense, English is also a crucial part of SU’s faceoff unit with his wing play. He even spends time on the Orange’s man-down unit as their lone short-stick midfielder.

The graduate student’s impact might not always show up in the stat sheet, recording 19 points through 10 games, though his presence helps Syracuse all over the field. In SU’s win over Virginia, the graduate student recorded a season-high four points (two goals, two assists), also making key plays in the fourth quarter to secure a victory to open Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Here’s a breakdown of English’s contributions in No. 7 Syracuse’s (8-2, 1-0 ACC) 12-10 win over Virginia:

2nd Quarter, 9:43 — English on cleanup duty

At this point, Syracuse trailed 5-3 with its only goals coming in transition.

When English initiates Syracuse’s offense, it typically comes on the wing. This time, SU isolated him in the middle of the field against short-stick midfielder Will Erdmann. English rarely dodges horizontally, often picking up a head of steam to get straight downhill. Erdmann shaded English to his right as he moved to the restraining line.

Off the ball, Luke Hublitz shuffled to the middle just in case English beat Erdmann. Hublitz soon rotated out when English was forced wide by Erdmann, which closed any shooting angle. English opted to feed an unguarded Joey Spallina before he tried to pop back open. As English called for the ball, Spallina had already made his move. He curled left and initiated contact with his primary defender, John Schroter.

Schroter wasn’t affected by Spallina’s contact and stood strong, yet Erdmann decided to help even though Schroter kept Spallina at bay. Before Erdmann got to Spallina, the attacker got off a shot from a tight angle. UVA goalie Matthew Nunes deflected the effort, yet couldn’t hold on.

The ball hopped right to English five yards from the cage. Due to Erdmann’s miscalculation when he tried to double Spallina, English was wide open. The ball bounced slightly off the grass, which English picked up. He quickly wound his stick back and fired past Nunes before Griffin Kology could close down the space.

3rd Quarter — 8:40 English sets up Leo for SU’s fourth goal in a row

Syracuse’s offense finally got in a rhythm early in the third quarter, scoring three goals within four minutes to take its first lead. SU held possession once again with Spallina at X. He decided not to go at Schroter and looped a pass to English, who immediately darted down the alley.

Erdmann forced English left, trying to push him outside. Instead, English used his speed to blow by him. No slide came, allowing English to fling a shot that hit the post. Spallina picked up the rebound and reset to Luke Rhoa. Rhoa thought about a long-distance rip, but passed off to Michael Leo and set a screen for him. Leo looked back in Rhoa’s direction, but swung a pass to English on the left wing.

English set up wide and shuffled side-to-side. After the third shuffle, English quickly changed direction, attempting to repeat his previous action. Erdmann did a better job cutting English off, forcing him to roll back right after only a few steps, where he lost his footing. Meanwhile, JP Lagunowich came over to help from the opposite side of the field.

As English got to his feet, Lagunowich cut off his right hand. Long pole Ben Wayer also shifted that way to defend English, which left Leo open on the perimeter. English felt the pressure and spun the opposite way. Schroter slid over, while Wayer’s eyes remained locked on English. So, English underhanded scooped a perfect pass to Leo on the perimeter.

With Wayer out of position, Leo had his hands free for a step-down shot, which resulted in his third goal in four minutes.

4th Quarter, 7:15 — English goes down the alley to level the game

After Syracuse went up two goals, it scored just once over the next 15 minutes, which created a 10-9 deficit. Then, English tied the game halfway through the fourth quarter.

Payton Anderson started with the ball behind the cage after English missed a shot above the net. Anderson, who earned his first career start, was guarded by long pole George Fulton. The freshman quickly dished to Spallina at X.

Schroter immediately sprinted toward Spallina to apply pressure. Spallina decided against attacking Schroter and swung a pass across to English, who occupied his typical position on the left wing.

As he caught the pass, English had Owen Hiltz and Leo as options to his right. English’s first step was toward the middle, but he quickly changed directions with a face dodge to attack the space on his left. English got Hudson Hausmann to bite, which gave him enough space down the left alley.

Kology and Schroter both tried to close down the space in response. They were both too late as English unleashed a low bouncer to the far post, which beat Nunes and tied the game with seven minutes left.

English finds Hiltz for the game-winner

During the fourth quarter, Syracuse ran most of its offense through English, letting him make plays. On the Orange’s most important possession of the game, tied with 2:27 remaining, they again went to English.

Rhoa tossed a pass to English 10 yards from the restarting line, which let him get a running start against Erdmann, who picked him up defensively. After English made his first move, he didn’t present a sense of urgency. Spallina had curled around from X, which clogged the middle of the field and forced English to pull back out and reset.

Rhoa tried to set a pick for English, but the two initially weren’t on the same wavelength. Eventually, Rhoa set up as if he was going to screen to get English going to his left. Instead, English quickly changed direction, and Rhoa flipped his hips to set his positioning.

Rhoa’s screen freed English from Erdmann enough to force Lagunowich to rotate. As English made his way toward the middle, all six UVA defenders’ eyes were locked on him. English had his head up and saw Hiltz wide open on the backside. For a split second, English peered at Leo before firing a no-look pass to Hiltz.

Hiltz caught the ball, quickly wound his stick back and rifled a shot past Nunes at the near post, which gave Syracuse a lead it never relinquished.

Published on March 31, 2025 at 9:41 pm
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