No. 6 Orange holds off No. 9 Cavaliers’ late rally

Syracuse men’s lacrosse returned to the Dome after a disappointing 14-9 road loss to No. 2 North Carolina last week, looking to rectify that loss by beating No.9 Virginia. 

The Orange did just that, as they defeated the Cavaliers 14-9. Senior goalie Jimmy McCool bounced back after being pulled last game by allowing just nine goals on 16 shots.

Virginia scored first after a faceoff win with a goal by attackman Ryan Duenkel, assisted by attackman MacCabe Millon. The Orange responded with three straight goals, with the first coming from attackman Greg Elijah-Brown and assisted by attackman Joey Spallina. 

The second quarter started slowly for the first four minutes, then heated up. Defenseman Chuck Kuczynski would go coast-to-coast for a goal, and the Dome erupted in excitement. 

“When any non-offensive player scores, it’s just a big jolt,” Spallina said. “That’s what the Dome really understands when it’s a non-offensive player’s goal, the place goes absolutely nuts. They call it a juice goal.”

Virginia responded right back to claw back within two. A goal by Spallina was waved off with Spallina angry over the call, but it went unchallenged. 

That shifted the momentum as Virginia scored two more goals before the teams would start exchanging strikes back and forth, with the Orange still up by two as a media timeout was called with just over seven minutes to go. 

The Cavaliers capitalized on the ensuing possession with a goal from attackman Truitt Sunderland, assisted by attackman McCabe Millon. The Orange had a chance to take a two-goal lead into halftime, but a goal by Ryan Cosley with nine seconds remaining cut the lead to one. 

The team kept their heads high at halftime as legendary head coach John Desko was inducted into the Syracuse Ring of Honor. Desko, a former player, spent 18 years as an assistant and 22 as head coach, contributing to all 11 national championships and leading five. His impact on Syracuse lacrosse is unmatched, and it was fitting that the honor came against longtime rival Virginia. 

“He’s an incredible mentor, coach and friend; he’s just so well deserved to see his name up in the Ring of Honor up there,” Gait said. “He’s done so much here, we are just glad to be around him whenever we can.”

 His name is now placed right above section 101.

Senior midfielder Luke Rhoa opened the scoring in the third off an assist from senior attacker Finn Thomson. The Orange defense followed with multiple stops, sparking a three-goal run before McCabe Million cut the deficit to three. 

The lead hovered between three and four as the team traded goals with Syracuse, closing the quarter on a 3-2 edge to lead 13-9. 

In the fourth, both defenses dominated, holding each team scoreless for nearly 13 minutes. Spallina broke the drought with less than three minutes remaining. Back-to-back saves by McCool then kept the Dome rocking, preserving the five-goal lead and sealing the 14-9 final. 

Junior midfielder Wyatt Hottle and Rhoa ended the night both with  hat tricks. 

Syracuse plays Colgate at 5 p.m. on Saturday for their final home game of the season.