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Greg Elijah-Brown’s impact on Syracuse is typically minimal. He constantly finds himself buried on SU’s depth chart behind attacks like Joey Spallina, Owen Hiltz and Finn Thomson, who’s name recognition supersedes Elijah-Brown by a wide margin. Although, the senior’s resume isn’t too shabby.

In two years at Onondaga Community College, Elijah-Brown racked up 102 career goals. His pedigree as a goal-scorer speaks for itself, which is why Syracuse finds value in him as a man-up specialist. That doesn’t mean Elijah Brown’s playing time is guaranteed. It’s still contingent on whether SU’s opponent stays disciplined. There are quarters where Elijah-Brown doesn’t see the field, and full games where he might not get off a shot or even touch the ball.

Through two quarters Friday, Elijah-Brown didn’t touch the field. All he could do was watch from the sidelines. In the second half, he came to life.

Elijah-Brown scored two crucial goals on his only shots to help No. 4 seed Syracuse (10-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) get past No. 1 seed Notre Dame (8-4, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) 14-12 in the ACC semifinals. The Orange only had three man-up chances, but Elijah-Brown scored on two of them. On the flip side, the SU stifled the Fighting Irish’s man-up unit, holding it to a 2-of-6 clip. Anchored by Jimmy McCool’s career-high 20 saves, Syracuse kept Notre Dame at bay despite committing a season-high 11 penalties.

It took over 59 minutes for Notre Dame to penetrate Syracuse’s man-down defense. Even then, the Fighting Irish could only do it with three SU defenders on the field after a scuffle left three Orange in the box.

By then, the result was already decided. Syracuse was up 14-10 and two late goals from Notre Dame had no effect on the outcome. The Fighting Irish couldn’t crack the Orange’s code. Whether it was McCool’s acrobatics, aggressive play in the passing lanes or plain sloppiness from Notre Dame, the Orange held strong.

“They were amazing today,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said of his man-down unit.

Greg Elijah-Brown and Trey Deere celebrate after one of Elijah-Brown’s two goals against Notre Dame on Friday. Elijah-Brown’s two tallies marked his most in a game in his two years at Syracuse Ike Wood | Asst. Photo Editor

Last season, Notre Dame’s man-up unit was deadly. It led the country converting on 67.5% of its chances. This season, that’s dropped to 31.6%, the 47th-best rate in the nation. Meanwhile, Syracuse entered Friday 36th in the country, killing 64.8% of opponents man-up chances. However, SU gave up the fifth-most opportunities with 54.

“We talk a lot about not getting upset, not reacting to the officials,” Gait said Wednesday during his media availability. “Sometimes it’s hard. I think as coaches, we have to remind ourselves of that every once in a while.”

Gait often implements the saying “calm is contagious,” and he reiterated that to his team this week. That went out the window seven minutes into the first quarter. Joey Spallina was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after berating an official.

Spallina was let off the hook when Chris Kavanagh dropped a routine pass while trying to set up Notre Dame’s offense. It was the only man-up chance for either team in the first half and ND failed miserably.

Once the Orange got their chance, they cashed in.

Across the second and third quarters, Notre Dame scored three straight goals, cutting SU’s lead to one before ND’s Will Gallagher was flagged for unnecessary roughness.

Finn Thomson and Owen Hiltz usually run point on SU’s man-up from the top of the defensive zone. They’re flanked on the wings by Spallina and Michael Leo, while Trey Deere — whose role’s been reduced to a pure man-up specialist — sits in the middle of the zone. Elijah-Brown sits right in front of the crease.

What makes Syracuse’s man-up unit so special — converting at 52.5% this season — is its rapid ball movement. A large contingent of SU’s attackers have box lacrosse backgrounds, meaning they can operate in tight spaces and fire high-risk passes to unlock a defense. That’s exactly what happened on Syracuse’s first man-up advantage.

Elijah-Brown received the ball at goal line, extended, and fired back up to Thomson. A quick dish to Hiltz led to a skip pass to Spallina while Elijah-Brown was left wide open on the crease. He whipped a shot past Thomas Ricciardelli in net to make it 9-7. Elijah-Brown’s goal kicked off a weather delay that lasted nearly an hour with 25 minutes remaining.

Despite the time in between player-up advantages, the Orange kept their rhythm. To start the fourth quarter they repeated a similar action after Jake Taylor was penalized for a trip in the final seconds of the third quarter. The infraction meant there was no faceoff to start the final frame.

Once again, SU’s passes were sharp, forcing Notre Dame’s zone to be on its heels. It started with Hiltz on the wing, then Thomson up top. He tossed a pass to Spallina on the other wing, who didn’t hesitate to get it to Elijah-Brown from the same spot he scored previously. Elijah-Brown’s second goal restored Syracuse’s four-goal lead 47 seconds into the quarter.

“(Elijah-Brown) was just doing his job and his role, and he did it very well,” Gait said. “We’re happy he got those two goals.”

In between Syracuse’s man-up scores, Notre Dame had its own chances to cash in while being a player-up, but couldn’t convert.

Will Angrick had cut Syracuse’s lead to one 40 seconds after play resumed during the weather stoppage. Nick Caccamo was called for a holding penalty on the ensuing ND possession.

Syracuse kept Notre Dame on the perimeter, which resulted in Kavanagh firing from distance and stopped by McCool. The shot stopper tried to spring a quick break, but Taylor deflected his pass. Kavanagh picked it up, but a desperation trail check from Billy Dwan made sure SU averted disaster.

The Orange went down two players, nursing a two goal lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. This time, Devon McLane took aim at McCool with a step-down, but the redshirt sophomore was equal to it.

McCool’s stops, especially in the third quarter, were integral to Syracuse holding Notre Dame without a player-up goal until the dying seconds. The Fighting Irish’s failure to score on their first four chances and Syracuse’s two conversions proved to be the difference.

The margins for error in the postseason are slim and every possession counts. Friday, Syracuse made Notre Dame pay for its mistakes, while the Fighting Irish were wasteful.

Published on May 3, 2025 at 11:15 am
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22