Syracuse edges Duke for ACC lacrosse title at PPL Park
The Syracuse men's lacrosse team made the most of its opportunities Sunday. The Orange erased an early Duke lead and held on to secure their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title with a 15-14 victory at PPL Park.
The Syracuse men's lacrosse team made the most of its opportunities Sunday.
The Orange erased an early Duke lead and held on to secure their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title with a 15-14 victory at PPL Park.
Syracuse (11-2) reached the championship Friday with a 9-8 victory over North Carolina. The Orange scored on all but one of their four man-up situations Sunday, all of them coming after they had dug themselves a 5-1 hole against the Blue Devils.
By contrast, Duke, a much younger and less-experienced team, was unable to capitalize on any of its four extra-body possessions.
"I think the system we were running worked really well today," Syracuse senior attacker Randy Staats said. "We were swinging the ball to the back side really well and made the most out of our opportunities when they were there."
Syracuse coach John Desko felt that the play of goalie Bobby Wardwell was crucial in keeping Duke out of the net in man-up situations.
"I thought he won the game for us in that sense," Desko said of Wardwell, who recorded eight saves.
On the strength of a three-goal, four-assist performance from tourney MVP Kevin Rice, Syracuse beat a top-10-ranked team for the sixth time this season (the Orange beat North Carolina and Duke twice each). Staats added three goals and a pair of assists.
Jack Bruckner scored five goals for Duke (11-5).
Syracuse went ahead for good with 2 minutes, 34 seconds to go in the second quarter when Dylan Donahue's unassisted goal made it 8-7.
After Syracuse's Tim Barber appeared to ice the game for the Orange on an unassisted goal that pushed the lead to 15-12 with 3:15 left, Duke got goals from Thomas Zenker and Myles Jones (three goals, two assists) that cut the lead to 15-14 in less than a minute remaining.
But the two-time defending national champion Blue Devils were unable to convert anything. Their last opportunity evaporated when a shot from 15 yards out from Case Matheis (two goals, one assist) missed the mark.
"They showed why they are the best team in the country today," Duke coach John Dankowski said.