Orange Remain Unbeaten with Come-From-Behind Win

Sunday, March 5

4 pm

Syracuse University

7-0,2-0

Virginia

2-3,0-1

Virginia

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

Orange Remain Unbeaten with Come-From-Behind Win

3/5/2017 7:26:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 5/4 Syracuse came back from a nine-goal first half deficit to defeat Virginia, 16-15, in the Carrier Dome on Sunday, March 5. With the win, the Orange improve to 7-0 overall, 2-0 in ACC play, while the Cavaliers are now 2-3, 0-1 in league play.

"That was just an incredible comeback, an incredible game," said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. "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. To come out in that second half and get the first one – my mindset was we score three, they get one, we'll get this done by the end. I think that's pretty close to how it worked. 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."

HOW IT WAS DECIDED
Virginia scored the first five goals of the game and built an 11-2 lead with 5:22 remaining in the first half. The Orange scored the final two goals of the half to cut the deficit to 11-4 at intermission.

Senior Devon Parker scored on an assist from redshirt junior Taylor Gait one minute into the second half and the comeback was on. The Orange scored two more goals to cut the deficit to 11-7 with 25:11 remaining.

The Cavaliers' Avery Shoemaker halted Syracuse's 5-0 scoring run with an unassisted goal, but Syracuse answered with three straight goals to bring the Orange within two at 12-10. Back-to-back goals by Virginia extended its lead to 14-10, but Syracuse responded with three straight goals to cut the deficit to one, 14-13, with 10:32 on the clock.

Kasey Behr netted her fourth goal of the day at the 9:11 mark to extend the Cavaliers' lead to 15-13, but that would be their final goal of the game. Redshirt freshman Mary Rahal scored an unassisted goal and on the ensuing draw, sophomore Natalie Wallon picked up the ball and started a fast break. She passed the ball up field to Nicole Levy, who delivered the ball across the crease to Parker, who buried her shot to tie the game at 15-15 with 8:33 remaining.

An interception by senior Haley McDonnell on a Virginia clear gave Syracuse possession with 4:26 remaining. After Gait called a timeout, junior Riley Donahue scored at the 4:06 mark to give the Orange their first lead of the game at 16-15.

Virginia had a chance to tie the score when Kelly Reese was awarded a free position with just more than two minutes remaining. Freshman goalkeeper Asa Goldstock stopped Mueller's shot, but couldn't control the ball. Sammy Mueller picked up the ground ball right on the crease and got off a shot that Goldstock blocked to maintain Syracuse's one-goal lead. Goldstock made another save with a minute remaining as the Orange held on for their seventh straight victory.

OF NOTE
Parker led the offense with a career-high five goals, while Wallon recorded her first career hat trick to go along with three draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Donahue recorded the game-winning goal for the Orange for the second time in a week. Her goal with nine seconds remaining gave Syracuse a 13-12 win against Albany last Monday.

UP NEXT…
Syracuse begins a three-game road trip on Saturday, March 11 at No. 1 Maryland at 1 p.m.