The Orange Upset Duke in Durham

Story and photos by: Tommy Farrell

DURHAM, N.C. - The Syracuse men's lacrosse team beat Duke 15-14 on Saturday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.

With the win, the 13th ranked Orange improved to 2-0 in the ACC and 4-3 overall. Duke, the third ranked team in the country, falls to 0-1 in the conference and 8-2 overall. Five of the last seven matchups between Syracuse and Duke have been decided by one goal.

Stoppin' Justin

Duke arguably has one of the best players in the country in Justin Guterding. The senior from Garden City, NY was held to only one goal and two assists. Guterding averages four goals a game and has a point in his last 65 games. Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Head Coach John Desko was pleased with Nick Mellen's job defending Guterding.

"We thought it was a pretty good matchup for Nick," Desko said. "He has good feet and is very quick, so it was quickness on quickness today."

Brendan "The Bullet" Bomberry

The senior midfielder was the leading scorer with four goals, including a goal with under three minutes left in the game to put the Orange up one.

Bomberry was one goal shy of matching his game high, which came in Syracuse's first contest against Binghamton. For this game, Bomberry was willing to do anything to get another ACC victory.

"If it meant scoring goals, I needed to score goals," Bomberry said. "If they wanted to stick me in the net, I would've done that, too - anything to get this win."

Ice In His Veins

For the second year in a row, Jamie Trimboli scored the game-winning goal against the Blue Devils. The sophomore ripped a goal in overtime to beat Duke last season in the Carrier Dome. This time his goal came with 1:14 left in the game to put Syracuse up 15-14, which would ultimately be the deciding factor in the game.

Spread the Wealth

The Orange had seven different players contribute to their 15 goals. Bomberry led the team with four goals and Stephen Rehfuss had a team-high of five points, with two goals and three assists.

X Marks the Spot

Although Duke won 20 out of 32 face-offs, Coach Desko put four different players in the X. This would amount to the Orange coming away with the final three face-offs.

Never Looked Back

It was a back-and-forth affair between Syracuse and Duke. After halftime, Syracuse scored three goals in a row. However, the Blue Devils responded by going on a 6-1 run. Nate Solomon and Brendan Bomberry wouldn't let Duke put it away after they scored and went up by one. Duke's Joe Robertson knotted things up with two minutes left to play before Trimboli would score the game-winner.

What's Next

The 13th ranked Syracuse Orange (4-3, 2-0) host the 4th ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Carrier Dome on March 31st.

The 3rd ranked Duke Blue Devils (8-2, 0-1) host the 20th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on March 30th.