Almost exactly a year ago to the day, the trio of Miles, Lyle and Ty Thompson combined to score 10 goals as Albany upset Syracuse 16-15 at the Carrier Dome.

On Sunday, the Thompsons showed flashes of brilliance, especially in the second half, but their seven combined goals weren’t enough to upset No. 2 Syracuse (2-0), and the Orange defeated No. 11 Albany (0-1) 17-16 at the Carrier Dome.

“They’re probably the most talented group we’ll see all season, and probably I’ve ever seen in my whole entire career here at Syracuse,” long-stick midfielder Matt Harris said. “You can only hold those guys to so many points and hope that you have at least one more at the end of the game.”

And for Syracuse, that’s exactly what happened. Ty Thompson finished with five goals, Lyle Thompson finished with a goal and five assists and Miles Thompson finished with a goal and two assists.

Harris said SU’s defensive strategy was to keep Miles and Lyle above the goal line extended. The most frequently used matchups were Brandon Mullins guarding Lyle Thompson, Sean Young guarding Miles Thompson and Bobby Tait guarding Ty Thompson.

“The only problem with that is you push out on those two so hard, Ty comes in and he’s open on the crease,” Harris said.

Early in the game, the Thompsons were out of sync. Lyle threw a pass over Miles’ head and out of play. Miles whiffed on a shot that was saved by SU goalkeeper Dominic Lamolinara. Miles sat wide-open on the doorstep but a pass never came his way.

Other players were forced to step up for the Great Danes, and they did. Midfielders Derrick Eccles, Ryan Feuerstein, Jimmy Haugen, Matt Garziano and John Maloney all scored for Albany.

“The thing we want with our midfielders is we want confidence and trust and them throwing us the ball or us throwing them the ball,” said Ty Thompson. “Whenever we’re having off games, they need to step up and take over sometimes, and I think they did a really good job.”

Though the Thompsons combined for three goals in the first half and four in the second half, Syracuse head coach John Desko said the SU defense played better against the Thompsons in the second half.

Lyle Thompson found a cutting Will Stenberg, who blasted a shot into the top right corner passed Bobby Wardwell to cut SU’s lead to 16-13. Lyle Thompson scored on a five-on-three from 10 yards out to make it 16-14, and moments later Ty Thompson put one between Bobby Wardwell’s legs to make it 16-15.

Despite nine goals from players not named Thompson, the rest of the Great Danes offensive didn’t do enough. And unlike last year, the Thompsons didn’t perform well enough to get their team over the hump.

Said Desko: “I thought the guys did a good job on them.”

Published on February 17, 2014 at 2:46 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu