Virginia Stakes Claim to No. 1 in Another Thriller
By Matt Gelb | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Danny Glading had three goals in UVa's 13-12 win in the
Carrier Dome. |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Danny
Glading always heard about the atmosphere of playing a big-time
lacrosse game in the Carrier Dome. He has experienced more than his
share of tension-filled games against Syracuse. But he was never
sure how much the old players exaggerated the Dome in stories.
After No. 2 Virginia's thrilling 13-12 victory over No. 1 Syracuse
with 16,595 fans watching, Glading now understands why they always
glorified it.
"I remember walking off the field and a couple players just said
that they feel like they're still dreaming just because it was the
type of game we expected to be in," Glading said. "It was an
amazing atmosphere and an awesome crowd. It's just...you had to
wake up and tell yourself that this actually happened."
It almost didn't.
In a rivalry known for its share of classic encounters and
dramatic finishes, the two top-ranked teams in the nation added
another chapter Friday night. Virginia prevailed, despite nearly
succumbing to a furious Syracuse rally in front of the
third-largest crowd to watch a regular season lacrosse game at the
Carrier Dome.
Syracuse trailed, 13-8, with 7:32 left in the game. Then, the
Orange scored the game's next four goals and held the ball with 50
seconds left and a chance to tie. But Tim Desko's errant pass from
behind the cage, intended for Kenny Nims, was off-target, and
Virginia's Matt Kelly swatted the ball away into Virginia
possession.
Only then could Glading and the rest of the Cavaliers
celebrate.
"It's just remarkable, isn't it?" Virginia head coach Dom Starsia
said. "We started talking about this game a couple days ago, and
one of the first things I told the team was, ‘You need to
play Syracuse for 60 minutes. The game is not over until the final
whistle blows.'"
The buildup prior to the game was enough to have the Carrier Dome
rocking. Both teams entered as the top-ranked squads in the nation,
depending on the poll. Virginia was making its first trip to
Syracuse since 2005. And there was no forgetting the last time the
two schools met at the Final Four last May, playing the
double-overtime, instant classic 12-11 Syracuse win.
Starsia said that game wasn't in his mind as he prepared for this
week, but he heard some of the players talking about the revenge
factor. Shamel Bratton, who scored a career-high four goals Friday
night, said he was thinking about it.
"A little bit," Bratton said, laughing.
Syracuse head coach John Desko said his greatest fear was that
Bratton, the athletic midfielder with so much potential, would
finally hit the net with his shots. And that's exactly what he
did.
"If he hits the cage, then he becomes that much more dangerous,"
Desko said. "It figures he'd do it against us in the Carrier
Dome."
While Glading and Garrett Billings scored their usual three goals
apiece, Bratton was the surprise. Syracuse stuck a short-stick
defender on him the entire game and he made his shots count.
"I hit the cage," Bratton said. "I have a hard time finding that
thing. You have to hit the cage and make the goalie make a save.
One of my goals wasn't really that good of a shot. But it was on
the cage and it had a shot."
Virginia outshot Syracuse 49-34 and won 17 of 29 faceoffs,
something Starsia noted as a huge improvement over last year's
meetings with Syracuse. The game was tied at four at halftime, and
both coaches said their teams were tentative.
In the second half, the Cavaliers dominated play. Syracuse turned
the ball over carelessly on offense and could never start a run
because of its struggles on faceoffs.
But when Dan Hardy scored from 18 yards out with 4:48 left, it
incited a Syracuse comeback.
"We talked the whole fourth quarter," Desko said. "Just keep
playing hard and never quit. The guys did that and you could see
the confidence come back when we started to score goals. The crowd
got behind us and it snowballed, and things started to happen for
us."
It wasn't enough, though, for the defending national champions.
Glading
recalled Starsia telling Virginia during the week that when these
two teams play, it's like an NBA game. It's always close and the
game doesn't matter until the last few minutes.
That, once again, proved true.
"Each one of these games has a life of its own," Starsia said.
"It's really quite remarkable."
