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"To be able to pick away at it, and get back into it, and to win it at the end, is a great win for Syracuse, and I'm very proud of the guys of how they played down the stretch," Orange head coach John Desko said.
Rivalry Renewed
Sunday afternoon at the Carrier Dome was intense. An absolute showdown between two powerhouses in the collegiate lacrosse world. It was a battle of "blue and orange," as Syracuse hosted its ACC rival. Coming in Syracuse was 2-1, and Virginia was 4-1. Both teams' only losses had a one goal differential (Army defeated SU on a last-second goal 14-13; UPenn downed UVA 11-10).
For the majority of this game, Syracuse again was playing catchup. Even though both teams scored four goals in the first period, Syracuse was scoreless in the second, putting Virginia up 8-4 at the half.
Syracuse made up for it in the second half.
Matt Lane and Nate Solomon finished the game with five points, both scoring three goals and racking a pair of assists. And then there was Salcido. Salcido also finished the game with five points, dishing out three assists and scoring a couple of goals.
It was his second goal that carried the most weight.
"When I got the ball, I looked over and they were shutting down everyone, making me take the matchup they liked,"Salcido said. "So I knew I needed to make a play. I dodged the middle, kind of zigzagged going back and forth, just trying to get a step on my guy, and shoot the ball and make sure I got a quality shot."
"It's not often you can win a game by one goal, having the roundball discrepancy, like we did in this game," Desko said. "Hats off to [Virginia], I thought they played really hard, but I thought our guys played hard the whole way, especially in the second half, being down like we were down."
Room for Orange Improvement
The big head scratcher in the game was the fact that Virginia managed to pick up 43 ground balls, compared to Syracuse's 27. As happy as Desko was, being in these close games is something he's not a fan of.
"I don't want to play that way," he said. "I want to get off to a better start. Again I thought we had some opportunities in that second period. We could have put a few back up there and made it a lot closer going into halftime, but credit to their goalie, and I didn't think we shot great, especially in the first half."
Salcido agreed that the team needs to get better starts.
"I think like Coach Desko said, obviously it's not what we want to be doing , getting these nail-biters, coming here down the stretch, probably like to get a lead early and control the game. But you got to adapt and overcome, and it's something we've been preaching all fall to the guys and all spring. We want to win, and it's important to us. We work hard so we make sure we are pulling out these games the best we can."
Despite Loss, Virginia Found A Win In Central New York
It was a homecoming of sorts for first-year Cavaliers head coach Lars Tiffany, who grew up in Lafayette. and he had some things to be happy about.
Virginia's Michael Kraus finished the game with six points, scoring four goals and dishing out two assists. In addition to Kraus' performance, Dox Aitken finished with five points, scoring three goals and getting two assists.
"I don't think I could be any more proud of my team," Tiffany said after the game. "We really did a great job on the ground balls. We flew around and we created extra possessions for ourselves most of the game. The last half of the fourth quarter, give Syracuse credit. They were the ones getting the extra possessions and getting loose balls and creating more shots on goal. But I'm really excited to be coaching Virginia because of the passion we play with."
"That's the way the game is meant to be played," he said. "What an exciting atmosphere." Having grown up in the Syracuse area, Tiffany is well aware of the importance lacrosse has in Central New York.
"It's really special to be able to play in front of so many rabid lacrosse fans, who were obviously rooting against us, or most them were rooting against us, but what an atmosphere. Obviously the loss stings, but I want to put this in perspective, what a great way to spend a Sunday. Running up and down against Syracuse University in a high-scoring, big hitting, action packed game."Onondaga Experience
Despite losing the game, Virginia did something special during the visit. After Tiffany
made his opening statement on the game, he said he is very appreciative for the opportunity he and his team were a part of the previous day.
"Special thanks to the Onondagas, and the Onondaga Nation for allowing us to go on the reservation yesterday and spend some time with Alfred Jacques, and seeing the stick making skills that he has. Really appreciate the Onondagas for inviting us on their land."
Michael Kraus said he learned a lot from being on the reservation, especially how the Onondagas see the sport of lacrosse.
"That was a one of a kind experience for us to be able to go on the reservation and spend time with Jacques and go in their indoor facility."I think what struck me was what lacrosse means to them. It really is their whole entire life, and they lacrosse for the Creator, it's kind of how they live their life. It's how they raise young boys to become men.
"That's what stuck out to me and also when they play, they play the game to the fullest extent. Clean, no hatred, no revenge, it's just a clean game, something bigger than themselves, and I think that's what stuck out the most to me. "
Kraus said he tried to implement what he learned on the reservation to Sunday's game today, and after the performance he had, he clearly learned something new. Before the game, the freshman had 26 points, 13 goals and 13 assists. Now he has 31.
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The next SU men's game will be on March 11, when Syracuse will be in Queens to face St. John's.
The Syracuse Women's Lacrosse team had a win of its own Sunday, also defeating Virginia 16-15 in overtime. Its next game is also on March 11, and will be on the road, facing the Orange women's nemesis, Maryland.
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