Syracuse women’s lacrosse completes latest in string of Orange comebacks vs. Virginia

After the Syracuse Orange men’s lacrosse team completed an impressive comeback vs. the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday, it only made sense that the women’s team would do the same.

The Hoos led 11-4 at halftime at the Carrier Dome, but that meant very little given how this all-sports rivalry has seemed to go lately. Syracuse stormed back in the second half, outscoring Virginia 12-4, collecting the big 16-15 victory.

Devon Parker led the way for SU with five goals, while Natalie Wallon had three. Cara Quimby, Riley Donahue and Mary Rahal added two apiece.

Syracuse found themselves down by as much as nine at one point in the first, before the comeback began. Most of the goals were unassisted, and came from everywhere on the field. Donahue put home the go-ahead goal with four minutes to play, then the Orange held on from there.

After the game Coach Gary Gait was impressed

"That was just an incredible comeback, an incredible game. We fought back. I thought the key was the end of the first half. We got a couple (goals). We showed we could score. That gave us a little energy going in to halftime... That was an effort that came from some incredibly tired athletes that dug down deep within themselves, found what they had and gave their all and made some great plays at the end of the game. They believed in each other and finished that game. Very proud of their effort and happy with the W."

As mentioned, Orange teams have made a habit out of this sort of performance of late. Some of the recent results — not even including last March’s Elite 8 comeback:

The Orange have made such a habit of this, that we’re getting inside Hoos fans’ heads. A quick glance over at our friends from Streaking the Lawn shows the extent of that damage.

To think that at one point, Virginia men’s basketball seemed to have our number? Now, those games are all part of a larger conspiracy to undermine the mental health of Hoos fans everywhere, by way of unlikely Orange comebacks.

Our paths won’t cross again until a potential (and again, unlikely) ACC Tournament championship matchup. After that, perhaps another meeting in the NCAA Tournament?

Maybe it’s not smart to tempt fate like this. But the ways things have been going, might as well ride the hot hand vs. Virginia.