UPDATED: April 6, 2017 at 5:46 p.m.

GENEVA, N.Y. — From 1987 through 2016, Syracuse has had its way with Hobart. All but twice the Orange captured the Kraus-Simmons Trophy. But that didn’t stop a group of students from throwing eggs at the team bus pregame or the chants that followed after.

Hobart kept the first quarter tight, trailing by just one goal. The student section responded during the layover with an expletive-laden chant. The game remained bitter in the second quarter, during which Nate Solomon scored his third goal of the game with three Hobart defenders draped around him. The sophomore attack’s celebration prefaced a one-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“I lost my cool,” Solomon said before glancing toward SU head coach John Desko. “I’ll never do that again.”

No. 2 Syracuse (8-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast) struck first and never trailed in its 17-11 win on Wednesday night, even with Hobart (4-6, 1-1 Northeast) keeping the game close at Boswell Field. It extended the Orange’s dominance over Hobart since 1987, now having won 29 of the last 31 contests. Solomon and senior Nick Mariano both tied career highs as SU ended its program-record streak of seven consecutive one-goal games.

Mariano has led Syracuse’s offense during its six-game winning streak. He scored four goals and added three assists in the win, playing from the midfield for most of the game and drawing a short-stick defender. That gave him more room with which to work. During SU’s man-up opportunities, he scored three of his four goals.

Mariano tied his career high in points at Syracuse, which came in the season opener against Siena. That was the last time an SU game wasn’t decided by one goal. The reigning two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Week, Mariano has strung together three straight games of three-plus goals.

“It’s being up top a little more,” Mariano said. “It’s allowing me to be a little more free and get a short stick most of the time.”

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For three quarters, Hobart kept the game close. Up by three with under seven minutes in the third, Syracuse had a man-up opportunity and the chance to pull away. Man-up specialist Brad Voigt found the ball in front of the net, but he passed it off to the side, where Mariano stood unguarded. A top shelf shot put the Orange up by four. A little over three minutes later, Mariano scored again.

“The pattern has been, for the last couple of years,” Hobart head coach Greg Raymond said, “fight with those guys for three quarters, keep it close. But this year, that didn’t happen.”

As Mariano transitioned more toward the midfield, junior Brendan Bomberry joined senior Jordan Evans and Solomon on attack. The offense worked the ball around, finding most of its goals coming from off-ball cuts toward the net. Solomon took advantage of the opportunities, making acrobatic shots to extend Syracuse’s lead.

Solomon’s first goal came two minutes and 52 seconds into the second quarter off a pass from senior midfielder Sergio Salcido, who finished with four assists for the second straight game. Stumbling toward the ground, Solomon turned and underhand-shoveled the ball past Hobart goalie Jackson Brown.

“He’s a right spot at the right time kind of guy,” Raymond said. “That kid is a very opportunistic player, and he’s good in early offensive sets. Plus, he’s great off-ball too.”

The sophomore capped off his three-goal second quarter with a pass from Paolo Ciferri in transition. Solomon faked a shot as three defenders converged. Knowing he’d get hit, Solomon ripped a shot past Brown.

What happened after was left unclear, though Desko said Solomon talked trash to the opposition. The following quarter, Solomon re-entered and forced a turnover. He picked up the ground ball and, despite taking a hit, remained on his feet, charged toward the goal and scored.

“Nate was pretty courageous,” Desko said. “He put himself in some situations off dodges where he knew he was going to get hit, but he held his poise the finish the ball.”

As it did last year, Syracuse pulled away from Hobart down the stretch. With 8:52 left, Hobart scored to pull within three. The rest of the game was all Syracuse, which ended on a 4-1 run that dominated possession.

Holding onto a safe lead and the clock winding down, the Orange sent out its backups. Dom Madonna replaced Evan Molloy, who made 17 saves in net, while the third midfield line made an appearance and added a goal — a Riley O’Sullivan score with 38.5 seconds remaining.

After the game, Ryan Simmons ran over to grab the trophy named partially after his great grandfather. The rest of the team surrounded Simmons in celebration. In the middle of the sea of Orange stood Solomon and Mariano, the duo that contributed on 65 percent of SU’s goals.

The teams’ 103rd matchup ended like many before it. And the Kraus-Simmons trophy will spend its fourth year in a row in Syracuse.

CLARIFICATION: In a previous version of this post, the number of years that Syracuse and Hobart have competed for the Kraus-Simmons trophy, since the second matchup, was unclear.

Published on April 5, 2017 at 10:15 pm

Contact Charlie: csdistur@syr.edu | @charliedisturco