Syracuse University
#1 Virginia
Orange Loses Men's Lacrosse National Semifinal, 17-10
5/27/2006 5:30:52 PM | Men's Lacrosse
PHILADELPHIA -- Virginia attackman Matt Ward scored four goals, including two in the first quarter to help the No. 1-ranked Cavaliers to a 17-10 victory against Syracuse (10-5) in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse semifinals at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cavs jumped on the Orange, 8-2, in the first quarter and never looked back as they remained undefeated this season with a 16-0 record. The game was played in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 49,562.
"I'd just like to congratulate Coach Starsia and the Cavs," said SU head coach John Desko after the game. It was the seventh time in eight years as Orange head coach that Desko had SU in the semifinals. "They're very impressive and they take advantage of every mistake you make. We thought that if we could slow them down that we'd have an opportunity to make it closer, but we made some mistakes and they capitalized on them."
Senior attackman Brett Bucktooth scored the first goal of the game off a pass from freshman midfielder Dan Hardy just 50 seconds into the contest, but UVA rattled off six-straight goals to take a 6-1 lead by the 6:13 mark. Six different Cavaliers scored during the run, which put the Orange in the position of playing catch-up the rest of the afternoon.
Virginia led by as many as seven goals, 9-2, early in the second quarter when Matt Poskay finished off a pass from Drew Thompson.
"They are great shooters," said SU goaltender Pete Coluccini. "When they get those goals early it does a lot to you mentally and physically. Most teams have that one go-to-guy, but Virginia has about four or five go-to guys on the field all the time. It's disheartening for a goalie because those guys will be able to find the goal with open looks."
Syracuse climbed back into the game with a four-goal spurt in the second quarter. Three of the goals were tallied by freshmen. Hardy flipped a shot over his shoulder past UVA goaltender Kip Turner at the 10:46 mark. Senior midfielder Andrew Sullivan cleared the ball to sophomore attackman Mike Leveille who passed off to Bucktooth for a Syracuse goal at the 7:35 mark. Rookie Kenny Nims scored next as he came around the corner on Turner with a jump shot. Finally, freshman middie Matt Abbott fired a sweet shot over Turner's head with very little angle on the goal. That score pulled the Orange within three goals, 9-6, with 3:15 remaining in the first half.
With 2:09 remaining in the second quarter, Ben Rubeor increased the Cavs' lead to 10-6. Both teams called a timeout in the final two minutes of the second quarter. SU gained possession and called timeout with a minute remaining. Senior attackman Joe Yevoli fed senior Brian Crockett, who buried a low shot past Turner to keep the Orange within three goals at halftime, 10-7.
UVA did a good job of limiting SU's touches in the third quarter. Ward registered back-to-back goals at 13:01 and 9:42 to increase Virginia's lead to 12-7.
With 4:21 left in the third period, SU senior midfielder Nathan Kenney literally tore a shot through the UVA net which left a hole in the upper right corner of the net and required some tending from officials. Kenney's goal on the run pulled the Orange to within 12-8.
SU was then awarded a two-man extra advantage when Poskay was whistled for unnecessary roughness. It appeared the momentum might swing in Syracuse's favor, but freshman midfielder Pat Perritt's shot attempt flew wide and Crockett's chance was stuffed by Turner.
The four goals would be as close as Syracuse would get the rest of the way. In the fourth quarter, Poskay, Jared Little, Danny Glading and Garrett Billings all scored goals to open up leads of 15-8 and 16-9. Yevoli scored his final collegiate goal with 7:01 remaining in the fourth quarter and Nims tallied his second goal of the game with 3:35 remaining. Nims, Bucktooth and Crockett each finished the game with two goals for Syracuse.
Turner finished the game with 10 saves. SU redshirt freshman goalie Peter Coluccini recorded 10 saves before being replaced by sophomore Jake Myers with 7:01 remaining.
Junior midfielder Jon Jerome won 12-of-22 faceoffs to help give the Orange a 17-13 advantage in draws for the game.
Crockett finished his four-year SU career with 157 points (113 goals, 44 assists). He is 16th on the school's all-time goals list. Bucktooth wrapped up his four-year tenure with 111 points (68 goals, 43 assists), including a career-high 37 goals this season. Yevoli had a goal and two assists against his former Virginia team. He ended his impressive collegiate career with 172 points (106 goals and 66 assists).
"I couldn't be more proud of this team after what we went through with people we lost and the injuries we had," said Desko. "I've never been so proud of a Syracuse team."
This was Syracuse's 23rd appearance in the NCAA semifinals in the past 24 years.
