No. 2 Syracuse Blows Past No. 5 Virginia 15-9

Story & Postgame  video by Robin Deehan

Photo courtesy cuse.com

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 2 Syracuse Orange soared to a 15-9 victory over the No. 5 Virginia Cavaliers Sunday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.

In the previous 31 meetings between Syracuse and Virginia, twelve games were decided by one goal, including five of the last eight, and six meetings were settled in overtime.

But this matchup told a different story between the two lacrosse powerhouses as Syracuse dominated Virginia in every aspect of play, outshooting the Cavaliers 50 to 31, winning ground balls 31 to 18 and controlling 20 of 27 face offs.

"I think we had a really good effort today, especially at the beginning of the game," SU head coach John Desko said. "I think our team was well-prepared coming in as far as who the personnel were they were going to cover today and what they would like to do offensively and defensively. I think Ben (Williams) did another terrific job giving us those possessions to put a lot of pressure on their defense. Just a complete effort to have the score the way it was in the first half. I think any coach in the country would be happy with that effort."

Syracuse also capitalized on crucial man-up opportunities scoring five goals, the most since the 2012 BIG EAST tournament against St. John’s.

“They’re very aggressive and we thought that we could pull them out and create some seams,” attack  Kevin Rice said. “I think especially after the first couple we got a good feel for their man-down and with our motion we pulled them out and opened up passing lanes.”

First Half Dominance

Nicky Galasso got things rolling with back-to-back goals in the first three minutes of play giving SU the 2-0 advantage. 

Rice, Paolo Ciferri, Derek DeJoe, Jordan Evans and Dylan Donahue followed Galasso’s lead, taking turns to score putting the Orange up 7-0.

SU’s dominance at the faceoff combined with outstanding defensive pressure held Virginia scoreless through the first 26 minutes of play.

The Cavaliers finally got on the board when Greg Coholan scored unassisted 3:39 before the half trying contain the score into halftime at 7-1.

But Galasso decided to end the first half the same way he started it and scored unassisted with 16 seconds left on the clock sending the Orange into the locker room with the 8-1 advantage.

“I think we did a really good job today offensively, we moved the ball well and you have to give the credit to Ben getting us the possessions and the defense did very well so it was a team effort today and I thought we played awesome,” Galasso said.

A Scary Moment in the Second Half

Virginia had better luck at the start of the second half scoring back-to-back goals in the first five minutes.

But Syracuse answered back with three straight goals from Rice, Tom Grimm and Ryan Tucker extending the Orange lead to nine.

The Cavaliers' best chance to turn the tide of the game came in the fourth quarter when faceoff specialist Williams exited the game with an arm injury.

Williams had won 15 of 19 draws, but a prepared Zach Vehar stepped in winning 5 of 7 draws allowing SU to keep the momentum going.

“It was good experience for Vehar today,” Desko said. “In one way we feel good that we will get Ben back for next week and we had another guy who got a lot of good experience today.”

Virginia scored the final two goals of the game eight seconds apart but it was too little too late as Syracuse collected its first top five win of the season improving to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC.

“It felt a little like men and boys out there at times,” Virginia head coach Dom Starsia said. “You go into a game like that thinking you want to stay out of the penalty box and do all those little things but we weren’t able to accomplish them.”

The Cavaliers dropped to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the ACC.

Playmakers

Eight different Orange men found the back of the cage in the 15-9 win.

Kevin Rice led all players with seven points on three goals and four assists while Galasso chipped in with four goals of his own.

Dylan Donahue recorded a hat trick and Barber, DeJoe, Evans, Tom Grimm and Ciferri each had one.

Randy Staats dished out four helpers and goal keeper Bobby Wardwell made a season high 11 saves.

Coholan, Ryan Tucker, and Zed Williams each had a pair for the Cavaliers and goalkeeper Matt Barrett put forth a valiant defensive effort with 20 saves on the day.

Up Next

Syracuse will face its firs test away from the Dome Saturday, March 7 against former BIG EAST rival St. John’s in Kennesaw, Georgia as part of the Cobb County Classic Series.

Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Post game Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuAiW55XxKE&feature=youtu.be