BIG CITY BUMMER: Shaky goalie play leads to SU's 2nd loss

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - As John Galloway headed to the sidelines after the final horn Saturday, the postgame celebration ensued 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.

Gallloway, instead, could only slap hands with his teammates. There was no reason for the sophomore to celebrate.

"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. "And it is something we're going to have to learn from and move on from."

Though Galloway struggled for Syracuse, Fiorito played brilliantly, and the discrepancy in goalie play made the difference as No. 2 Syracuse fell to No. 5 Princeton, 12-8, Saturday at the Big City Classic here at windy Giants Stadium, in front of 22,308 fans. Galloway made seven saves in the losing effort, yielding goals to shots from all angles. Fiorito made 15 saves in the upset. Galloway has allowed 25 goals in the past two games.

"Obviously, I have a lot of weaknesses, pick any one you want, write it down. I don't really care," Galloway said. "I need to work on a lot of things."

Galloway came in as the veteran, but Fiorito looked like the experienced goalie as Galloway struggled to find his rhythm. Syracuse's defense was not particularly crisp protecting its goalie, but Galloway failed to make saves when needed.

The Tigers found multiple ways to beat Galloway, using shots up high, at Galloway's knees and bouncers. Jack McBride, who notched three goals, scored on Galloway with a line drive and two bouncing shots. The second bouncer gave Princeton (8-1) the lead for good. Mark Kovler, who also torched SU (7-2) for three scores, bested the goalie with a line drive to the bottom left of the net and a rocket about chest level.

"We can't let them unload those guys that can shoot from 10 to 12 feet as accurately and as 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."

On the other end of the field, Fiorito played like a seasoned veteran. He made key saves throughout the contest, blanking several Syracuse players on close-range shots in a 15-save effort. In the second half, the freshman had seven saves, while Syracuse continuously tried to beat him up high, where the goalie was quick with the stick.

Princeton head coach Bill Tierney said his goalie made several saves that prevented Syracuse from going on runs that could have changed the game. He stopped 3-of-4 shots on goal in the fourth quarter, including a missile from Josh Amidon early in the fourth with SU trailing 9-7.

"Tyler played a great game," Tierney said. "I think it was a big-time game from our big-time freshman in a big-time venue, and he came up big for us."

In the first half, Princeton converted on five of its eight shots on goal 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 the one during Syracuse's man-up possession with the Orange trailing, 7-6.

Kenny Nims held the ball behind the cage but overthrew Dan Hardy, and Princeton midfielder John Lesko scooped the ball. Princeton's Tommy Davis then found Brendan Reilly open near the crease with the Syracuse defense unsettled, and the sophomore beat Galloway with a bouncing shot to make it 8-6 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

"I thought their goalie played very well, I thought our (goalie) played good," Tierney said. "Their kid won a national championship as a freshman. We've had some games where we shot very well, against Albany, and we shot well today. John's a heck of a goalie, and he's some athlete, too."

The last time Galloway played in an NFL stadium, he won a national title. This time, he played one of his worst games of the season and was out-dueled by a freshman. He will have little time to ponder his mistakes today as No. 4 Cornell heads into the Carrier Dome for a showdown 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."

mrehalt@syr.edu