ANNAPOLIS, Md. — After picking up a ground ball and running behind the net, Syracuse defender Jay McDermott threw a cross-field pass to a wide-open Sean Young. The ball sailed high, but Young corralled it while tip-toeing on the sideline and was able to backhand a pass to Bobby Wardwell, who was falling out of bounds while being pressured.

Syracuse trailed 13-10 with six minutes left, and needed a clean clear to jumpstart an attack the other way.

Wardwell flung the ball across the field, but with nobody in the vicinity of his pass, the ball bounced three times and over the sideline for a turnover. SU head coach John Desko, animated on the sideline for much of the game, stood expressionless and slightly adjusted his waistline.

“We talked all week about having to ride, fall back and get possessions back,” JHU attack Wells Stanwick said. “We knew we had to do everything we can to get the ball back and get it going our way.”

Syracuse turned the ball over 12 times compared to Johns Hopkins’ six. The Orange turned the ball over five times in the fourth quarter, the most of any quarter, and failed to maintain possession at critical points down the stretch.

Second-seeded Syracuse’s (13-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) valiant comeback fell just short in a 16-15 loss to Johns Hopkins (11-6, 4-1 Big Ten) in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, and SU’s case wasn’t particularly aided by its inability to take care of the ball.

“Probably a couple more than what you would like to get in a game like this,” Desko said of his team’s 12 turnovers. “Disappointed, a game like this, we know it’s going to be tight.”

The Orange didn’t turn the ball over in the first quarter, but gave it away four times in the second stanza.

SU faceoff specialist Ben Williams corralled a faceoff and darted downfield, but a JHU player put a head to his gut. He laid on the ground while the Blue Jays picked up the loose ball and head coach Dave Pietramala called a timeout.

“They were caused turnovers,” Desko said. “Give the credit to the Blue Jays for putting the ball back on the ground a few times.”

JHU defensive midfielder Michael Pellegrino said his team plays better defense when it sits back and plays calmly.

That’s what the senior attributed the caused turnovers to on Sunday, as he pinpointed Syracuse’s Nicky Galasso, Hakeem Lecky and Kevin Rice — who each committed a turnover – as dynamic players who need to be defended more strategically.

“A caused turnover against Syracuse doesn’t come very often,” Pellegrino said. “So those turnovers today came from being smart, making the right decision at the right time.”

After Wardwell’s failed clear in the fourth, SU got the ball back after a save but Young turned it over just seven seconds later. Only two seconds elapsed before Johns Hopkins’ Shack Stanwick capitalized, putting the Blue Jays back up by four.

The end result will be remembered for a vicious last-minute comeback that saw SU fall one goal short.

But it was the sloppy ball-handling, most notably as the game wound down, that prevented Syracuse from drawing that close before it was too late.

Said Desko: “You have to limit those turnovers and obviously that came into play a little bit today.”

Published on May 17, 2015 at 5:26 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman