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Syracuse won its second straight game last Saturday, beating North Carolina 15-14 in Olney, Maryland. Michael Leo scored the game-winning goal with mere seconds remaining, and the Orange kept their postseason hopes alive heading into this weekend’s clash with No. 4 Virginia.

SU still needed to beat the Cavaliers, and Duke next Saturday, to secure an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, though. A loss in either, and the season would end in Durham, North Carolina.

And the Cavaliers, coming off their second loss to Duke in three games, controlled the game from the start en route to a 19-12 win, effectively cementing Syracuse’s second straight season without a postseason berth for the first time since 1977-78. Xander Dickson led Virginia with seven goals, and three of his teammates added multi-goal games. Goalie Will Mark, under pressure throughout the afternoon, finished with 15 saves.

Here are some observations from No. 12 Syracuse’s (8-6, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) deflating loss to No. 4 Virginia (9-3, 3-2 ACC):

Turnovers, lost faceoffs lead to slow start

Syracuse got nothing going early on Saturday. UVA scored the game’s first six goals, took a 7-2 lead into the second quarter and a 10-5 lead into halftime. A large part of that was because the Cavaliers won the first four faceoffs, putting excessive pressure on SU’s defense, which got worn down as a result. And Virginia fired 12 more shots than SU in the first quarter.

On one of those shots, attack Truitt Sunderland waited at X for more help with Syracuse’s defense holding a 6-3 advantage. The Orange sat in a zone, Caden Kol opted to leave Sunderland alone, and the freshman took advantage by jumping right in front of the cage and scoring past Mark.

Even when Syracuse did make a defensive stop and cleared successfully, it struggled holding onto the ball — turning it over six times in the opening period. SU added five more in the second quarter, including one by Cole Kirst in the middle of the field that led to Thomas McConvey scoring low.

Minutes later, Brandon Aviles bounced a simple pass to Kol, leading to another turnover. Payton Cormier made Syracuse pay by shooting one in from the right wing, taking a 10-5 lead.

SU averages only 12.38 turnovers per game, second-best in the nation, but totaled 15 on Saturday — 11 of which came in the first half.

SU holds its ground against LaSalla

Petey LaSalla, a preseason All-American who holds Virginia’s all-time record for faceoff wins, was one of the toughest tests Syracuse’s struggling faceoff unit would face all season. LaSalla ranks second in the ACC in faceoff winning percentage, while Syracuse’s unit entered the day 65th out of 72 teams. But the graduate student had turned in his worst performance of the season last week against Duke, going 11-for-32 at the X.

Jack Fine started for SU after a 7-for-22 performance last week. He lost the first four draws, leading to Johnny Richiusa coming off the bench in his place. Richiusa was able to finish 50% in the first half, allowing Syracuse to begin chipping away at its deficit.

Fine finished 4-for-13, and Richuissa 10-for-20.

Offense doesn’t get enough opportunities

Syracuse’s offense ranks fourth in the nation in offensive efficiency, but Syracuse didn’t get many chances with the ball on Saturday behind the faceoff losses and turnovers. Virginia outshot them 60-37, and notched 12 more shots on goal.

The ones SU did get, it took advantage of. Syracuse scored on 12 of its 22 shots on goal, and could’ve added a few other goals if goalie Matthew Nunes hadn’t denied multiple wide-open, point-blank shots that the Orange usually finish. Alex Simmons scored four goals on just five shots, including an impressive runner where he dropped the head of his stick to the ground, shooting from behind his ankles to score.

SU scored three straight goals midway through the third quarter to cut its deficit to five, not missing any shots in between. Kirst got the run started by dodging on Cole Kastner, and spinning to his left to bounce a shot in. But after an Owen Hiltz goal three minutes later, the Orange couldn’t get any more good looks. Virginia scored two more times before the end of the quarter to bolster its lead back to seven.

Dickson and UVA have a big offensive day

Dickson, a redshirt senior attack, had scored nine goals over his last three games following a six-goal outing at Notre Dame on March 25. He leads the Cavaliers — the nation’s top scoring offense — in goals, and is fourth nationally.

Syracuse couldn’t find a way to stop him on Saturday. Dickson’s seven goals tied a career-high set his freshman year against VMI, and he also dished out two assists. The attack registered a first-quarter hat trick, making it 6-0 after he received a feed from a dodging Jeff Conner to score. Then, in the third quarter, Dickson notched his sixth goal by dodging on Aviles and sticking a low shot past Mark.

Virginia’s offense averages 17.82 goals per game, and managed to top that with 6:40 left in the fourth quarter when Patrick McIntosh fed Payton Cormier. Dickson added another goal three minutes later, putting the final cherry on top for UVA.

Published on April 22, 2023 at 4:28 pm

Contact Connor: [email protected] | @csmith17_