Syracuse vs Cornell WLAX Photos

Ithaca, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Women's Lacrosse team took an early 4-0 lead, then held on to beat Cornell 9-7 on Tuesday evening, Here is a look at the game in pictures by Kerry Bretti. Click on any photo to start slide show.

Syracuse Sticks it to North Carolina

By Kerry Bretti 

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The No. 11- ranked Syracuse Orange hosted No. 10 North Carolina in the Orange’s last ACC matchup of the regular season at the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

After a string of recent losses, Syracuse proved a team to still be reckoned with, defeating UNC 13-7. 

In a game of runs, this matchup seemed somewhat reminiscent of the overtime losses to Johns Hopkins and Duke as Syracuse took an early lead only for North Carolina to make a comeback. 

Not this time, though. The Tar Heels fell short after a late surge and the Orange took off again.


Strong Orange start

The Orange men went on a 6-0 run in the first half, giving them a 8-2 lead going into the break. North Carolina then had a 5-1 run in the second half, giving Syracuse head coach John Desko memories of the Orange losses at Hopkins and Duke as well as at Cornell just this past Tuesday night.

“They got within two and I kept looking at the clock,” Desko said. “It wasn’t running fast enough. I thought somebody kept turning it off but our defense played tough and we got the ball on offense and were able to score a couple more.”

The Orange fired four more shots into the back of the cage before the final whistle to seal the win. 

Offense

Syracuse offense was led by Sergio Salcido who finished with three goals and two assists. Nick Mariano also added a hat trick while Tim Barber had two goals and an assist. Dylan Donahue served four assists to his teammates while adding a goal of his own. The Orange went two for two on man-up opportunities.

North Carolina was led by Michael Tagliaferri with four goals, followed by Luke Goldstock who added two goals and one assist. The Orange defense didn’t give North Carolina any man-up opportunities.

At the X

Syracuse’s Ben Williams finished with 16 of 24 faceoffs, including all six in the fourth quarter. Stephen Kelly took the faceoffs for North Carolina and won the remaining eight of 24.

“Benny has been playing his heart out for us all the time,” Syracuse goalkeeper Evan Molloy said. “Whether the team is playing well or in a rut a little bit there he always gives his all.”

In the goal

Molloy made his third start of the season, saving nine of 16 shots on cage.  Molloy made a save on the first shot of the game which was cleared and resulted in the first Syracuse goal.

“That’s kind of the most fun part of playing goalie for me,” Molloy said. “Playing offense there getting the ball down the field. The guys love when we run and gun like that.”

Brian Balkam played the full 60 minutes in cage for the Tar Heels, making ten saves on 23 shots on goal.

Orange is in

With the win, Syracuse improves to 7-4 on the season and 2-2 in the ACC and secures a spot in the ACC tournament. North Carolina drops to 6-5 and 2-1 in the ACC.

Ahead

Syracuse hosts Binghamton on Wednesday night at 7:00 in a non-league game. The ACC Tournament starts Friday, April 29 in Kennesaw, Ga. Syracuse has one more non-league home game after that, against Colgate on Saturday, May 7.

North Carolina Women Prevail in One-Goal Game Against Syracuse

By Kerry Bretti 

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Syracuse hosted North Carolina at the Carrier Dome on Saturday in an ACC Women's Lacrosse top two matchup. In a game of runs, the Tar Heels made them count, outlasting the Orange 12-11. 

After the Heels began stalling late in the second half, up by one, it nearly sealed the deal for the UNC win. With 36 seconds left and a glimmer of hope for the Orange, the Tar Heels turned the ball over on the Syracuse end line. 

The Orange would have 36 to clear the ball and score a goal to tie the game at 12. The clear got to about midfield before the Orange turned it back over with 19 seconds left. That was be the ball game.

“Two very good teams going head to head and it’s a game of runs,” Syracuse Coach Gary Gait said. “They got that last run and got up on us.”

Orange leads at halftime, but Tar Heels recover

Syracuse went into halftime up by one goal supported by a powerful 6-1 run. The Tar Heels made the second half theirs, winning the half 5-3 and ultimately putting them past the Orange. Senior Sammy Jo Tracy led North Carolina’s scoring with three goals and one assist. Carly Reed added a hat trick for the Tar Heels. Sophomore Ela Hazar had six points on two goals and four assists.

“You keep giving a good team like that the ball, they’re going to score on you,” Gait said.

Scorers and Stoppers

Syracuse scoring was led by Riley Donahue who also had six points, finishing with four goals and two assists. Kayla Treanor added two goals and two assists while Halle Majorana and Kelly Cross each added two goals. Syracuse lost at the draw circle as well, only grabbing 12 of 25 draws.

North Carolina played two goalies, each seeing a half of the action. Caylee Waters started for the Tar Heels, saving only two of ten shots on goal. Megan Ward stepped in for her at the half and saved seven of ten shots on goal, a huge difference maker for the Heels. Ward is credited with the win.

“She [Ward] played great,"Gait said. "Seven saves in the second half to really turn the game around for them. She got in our shooters heads a little bit.”

Syracuse’s Allie Murray played the full 60 minutes in goal for the Orange . Murray made six saves on 18 shots on goal. Syracuse tallied 31 fouls and three yellow cards against the Tar Heels. Carolina was one for three on free positions and Syracuse scored one of four free positions.

Tar Heels title, next

With the win, North Carolina improves to 12-2 and wraps up the ACC regular season title at 6-0 with one game left in conference play. The Tar Heels host Duke next Saturday, April 23.

Syracuse drops to 12-4 and 4-2 in the ACC, with one conference game at home against Louisville on Saturday, April 23. First, the Orange women will visit Cornell this Tuesday, April 19.

Syracuse Men's Lacrosse vs UNC Pictures

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Men's Lacrosse team built an early lead then held off a North Carolina comeback to defeat the Tar Heels 13-7 at the Carrier Dome Saturday afternoon. Here is a look at the game in photos by Kerry Bretti. Click on any picture to start slide show.

Orange Shakes Off Losses, Finishes Off Tar Heels

By James Anderson
Photos by Kerry Bretti

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After yet another heartbreaking overtime loss on Tuesday to Cornell for the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team, and its four loss in five games, it was understandable to assume that the Orange were in a low place. With 11^th ranked ACC opponent North Carolina coming in to town, and a loss to the Tar Heels meaning Syracuse falling further behind in the conference standings, Syracuse was in need of a rebound.

And the Orange did just that, fending off a second half-long UNC rally to pick up the win over the Tar Heels, 13-7 at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon. Nick Mariano and Sergio Salcido both notched hat tricks for the Orange, with Michael Tagliaferri notching four goals in the counterattack for North Carolina. Tim Barber and Jordan Evans knocked in two for Syracuse in the winning effort, and goalie Evan Molloy pulled in nine saves in net for the Orange.

"I thought these guys, our guys just had a tremendous effort today," Syracuse head coach John Desko said. "I thought we came ready to play, sensed it in the locker room that there was a lot of energy there, and to come out and get that lead in the 1st half was big for us." 

Strong SU start, long Tar Heels' drought

Syracuse established a lead as big as six in the first half, proving to be the difference maker as North Carolina did not overcome the deficit; despite a hard charge in the second half to battle back, the lead never shrank below two for the Orange. 

22:42 minutes of game time passed during North Carolina’s long drought, with a Luke Goldstock goal finally breaking through and jump-starting a strong third quarter for the Tar Heels.

"I thought the defense was very, very stingy, and we slid into cover better than we have all year...we've been working on that, so it's nice to see that pay off." said Desko.

Dominant Orange first half

The squads traded goals to open the contest, with Barber and Salcido starting up their productive days with a goal apiece, and two goals from Tagliaferri for North Carolina in response. However, Syracuse locked in after UNC’s score making it even at two, and ripped off six straight goals for the rest of the half to take a solid lead into halftime, 8-2. Nick Mariano picked up two goals of his hat trick during this stretch, Salcido and Barber scored for their second goals each, and Joe Gillis and Dylan Donahue joined in on the run. Donahue lead the game in assists with four dishes for Syracuse. 

UNC Closes Gap, But Can’t Overcome

As mentioned, the Tar Heels ended their drought quickly in the third quarter, but actually started up a run of their own on the Orange, outpacing Syracuse 4-1 in the quarter to draw within three with the final quarter remaining. Syracuse's only tally in the 15 minute stretch on Salcido's hat trick-completing goal, but the Tar Heels wrestled control and momentum away in a four goal run, carrying into the fourth quarter. 

Tagliaferri was the prime motivator, splashing in two more goals to up his total to four, and trimming the lead down to two with 12:23 left. Goldstock picked up his second score, and Jake Matthai joined in with a strike, but despite the run, the Tar Heels did not come any closer.

"I think what we saw in this game is that when our defense kind of needed something, our offense and Benny (Ben Voigt) put on for us, they got us the ball, they put the ball in the net, and then you know, if the offense is having trouble at times, we get the stops, and that's a great team win," Syracuse goalie Evan Molloy said.


Syracuse slammed home four goals in a row of its own to put it away for good, shaking off previous issues of the Orange finishing games, and more importantly, avoiding going to overtime, where Syracuse has been snake-bitten three times this season. Jordan Evans piled up his two goals for the day in the rally, with Mariano racking his third, and Nick Weston joining in, giving the Orange the decisive 13-7 win.

"Well, I think the game started to play out in the second half like some of our overtime losses, where the other team came back, we weren't able to sustain the lead." Desko said.

"And tonight I thought between some of the faceoffs, it was great, and our defense really, you know, holding them and playing good defense keeping the goals down, and our offense able to counter and put some goals up to create a bigger lead going down in the 4th quarter, that's something that we haven't had in those losses, so just the way it played out, we were challenged again, they got within a couple and we were able to overcome that, which we hadn't done earlier."


Notes

With the victory, Syracuse qualified for the upcoming ACC Tournament in its last ACC conference game of the season, and with one final game remaining on the schedule.

Desko was asked about the team needing the win after the tough losses prior, and interjected with a smile, "Well, you guys keep saying that", referring to the media coverage during the week. 

Syracuse moved to 7-4 and finished even in the ACC schedule at 2-2. as North Carolina dropped to 6-5 for the year, and its first ACC loss. (2-1) The Orange is at the Carrier Dome on Wednesday, hosting non-conference opponent Binghamton. ACC tournament play begins Friday, April 29^th. Syracuse has one more home game after the ACC tournament, with Colgate coming in on Saturday, May 7.