Quite a rude bunch, those Cavaliers. We invite them over to our place, make it up all pretty, bring out the nice china and serve our very best meals. And what do they do? They beat our women's AND men's lacrosse teams. The nerve.
First up were the ladies and despite Katie Rowan's hat trick the #3 Orange couldn't overcome the #4 Virginia squad in a 14-11 loss. The back and forth contest saw five lead changes before Virginia took the lead late in the game and never looked back. Virginia outshot Syracuse 33-25 and had an 18-9 advantage in draw controls ,which I assume is like face-offs but I don't actually know.
As for the men, another SU-Virginia game, another furious finish and fantastic game. Don't believe me? Dave Rahme will tell you:
It had everything. Great goals. Fantastic saves. Stretches of outstanding defense. Tense battles for every loose ball. Aggressive rides all over the field. All on display for a rocking crowd.
Everything. Unfortunately for the Syracuse University men's lacrosse team, everything included a bunch of uncharacteristic turnovers, and they added up to a 13-12 defeat to Virginia on Friday night before a crowd of 16,595, the largest for a men's lacrosse game since 1992 and the third-largest in the history of the Carrier Dome.
Keeping with the series history, as good as this game was, it probably wasn't even one of the top five games these two teams have ever played. In 22 meeting since 1994, each team has won 11 times with Virginia scoring 305 goals to Syracuse's 304. It's close, I tells ya.
Credit to SU for mounting a furious comeback, down 13-8 with just under five minutes left. It looked like the Orange might steal it in the end but the Cavs held on, securing the win and their spot atop both lacrosse polls today.
John Galloway overcame a rough start and some nerves to finish strong for the Orange. Despite the loss, it bodes well that the Orange were neck and neck with Virginia, and if or when they meet again in the playoffs, they'll be ready to exact a little revenge.