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Syracuse hadn’t led since the first minute of the game, but with 2:16 left, Brendan Curry turned to his signature speed dodge to dissipate UNC’s lead. Curry went down with an injury in the first quarter, and it looked like he might have been done for the afternoon. But he returned, and so did Syracuse, from a 10-5 third-quarter deficit. 

Then, just like Monday against Cornell, the Orange were dealt a heartbreaking blow down the stretch. Syracuse led by a goal with just over a minute left in both games but ended up losing both matchups. 

UNC’s Lance Tillman pump-faked past an SU defender to equalize with one minute left. Syracuse’s Jakob Phaup dominated the faceoff battle all afternoon, but in the most crucial moment, UNC came up with the ball, and Chris Gray scored with 15 seconds remaining.

Gray’s game-winner sealed Syracuse’s (4-8, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) first losing season since 2007 due to a 14-13 loss to No. 15 UNC (8-4, 1-3 ACC). After making the NCAA Tournament in 37 of the last 38 seasons, the Orange have now officially been eliminated from contention — teams must be above .500 to be eligible, and SU can no longer reach that threshold. In a matchup between the conference’s lowest teams in the standings, Syracuse came up just short in a back-and-forth battle on Saturday. 

“Extremely disappointed we didn’t get the job done,” head coach Gary Gait said after the game. “I feel good about the heart of this team and the effort of this team, it’s amazing. (But) the execution, we got a long way to go, still.”

Even if Syracuse had won, its postseason hopes would’ve been slim. SU had a 0.1% chance of making the tournament after its overtime loss to No. 5 Cornell, according to Lacrosse Reference’s bracketology. 

After the game, Gait spoke about his goals to return Syracuse to national prominence after a rare losing season for the most-decorated program ever. Fundamentals can be fixed, Gait said, but the “heart” and “never quit” mindset of this team will be passed onward.

Saturday’s loss, like many others this season, began because Syracuse started slowly. It scored on its first shot attempt of the game via Jacob Buttermore but then conceded a 5-0 run to close out the first quarter. 

The Orange had 15 consecutive shots without a goal, and even though Phaup dominated at the faceoff X by winning five of his first eight draws, SU’s offense couldn’t capitalize. It’s a problem that’s recurred throughout the season — good offensive looks that Gait said the Orange practice regularly but can’t finish. 

Curry was slow to get up off the turf with an injury, and an already-thin Syracuse offense looked lost for the remainder of the first quarter.

On defense, Nick Caccamo made an errant pass that missed Bobby Gavin and led to an empty net for Gray to score on. SU didn’t get to a loose ball after a shot rebounded, and Dewey Egan scored from point-blank range to make it 3-1. Egan, a true freshman, earned his first career start and finished with two goals.

Brett Kennedy didn’t close down UNC’s star attack, Gray, who made it 4-1. And then both Grant Murphy and Max Rosa missed on an opportunity to scoop up a ground-ball off a faceoff, and Gavin was way out of position. UNC scored on an empty net, and SU trailed by four.

“We gave them four goals on missing passes and allowing them to shoot on empty nets, so it’s been the story of the year so far,” Gait said. “We’re trying to dig our way out of it and we haven’t been able to do it yet.”

Phaup kept winning at the faceoff X — going 9-of-12 in the first half — and the tides started to turn. Tucker Dordevic dodged and then unleashed a rocket into the back of the net to end the scoring drought. 

Dordevic ripped another to make it 6-3, and then Owen Seebold scored with ease as he was in a short-stick matchup right on the edge of the crease. With 3.5 seconds left in the half, Curry placed a shot perfectly into the far-post top corner to make it a one-goal game. 

“He’s a competitor and a warrior, and he got hit and was able to suck it up and get back out there and play,” Gait said of the SU captain.

After halftime, UNC reestablished momentum. The Orange gave up another 4-0 run, firing just four shots and failing to score in the first half of the third quarter. Nicky Solomon, who’s struggled recently with zero points in the last two games, became the latest unlikely hero to find success against SU, joining Notre Dame’s Jake Taylor and others. Solomon found the top right corner to re-extend UNC’s lead and finished with three goals and an assist.

But once again, Syracuse answered the deficit. Kennedy ran coast to coast with the ball and then found a skip-pass for Dordevic, who ended UNC’s 4-0 scoring run. Curry drew a slide from a Tar Heels’ long-pole and then picked out freshman Jackson Birtwistle for the goal. Birtwistle replaced Mikey Berkman in the third quarter because Berkman wasn’t converting his chances, Gait said.

His impact was significant. Phaup won the faceoff immediately after Birtwistle’s goal, and Seebold dodged to make it a two-goal game going into the fourth quarter. Birtwistle intercepted a pass on the ride and scored on an empty net from midfield. 

Syracuse capped off its comeback when North Carolina got flagged for a two-minute, unreleasable penalty on a cross-check. Man-up specialist Pete Fiorini cashed in after SU missed its first three shots. Then Dordevic delivered an electric behind-the-back pass to Curry, who cut North Carolina’s lead to 12-11. Birtwistle equalized after a beautiful play in transition, and Curry gave SU the lead.

But ultimately, it was Tillman, and then Gray’s spectacular effort, which led to yet another game that SU couldn’t close out. Six of SU’s losses this season were one-goal games at the start of the fourth quarter. 

For the second time this week, Syracuse hung its head and watched the other team charge the field in celebration after avoiding an upset. This time, though, the gut-wrenching loss handed SU its first losing season in over a decade.

Published on April 16, 2022 at 6:31 pm

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16