Men's Lacrosse

Fast reaction: 3 quick takeaways from No. 4 seed North Carolina’s 16-15 upset of No. 1 seed Syracuse in the ACC tournament semifinals

Cody Hendrix | Staff Photographer

Ben Williams struggled early and a hot third quarter wasn't quite enough to undo the damage.

DURHAM, N.C. — In a season of comebacks and close finishes, No. 1 Syracuse staged its most dramatic second-half of the season. Down nine at the half, the Orange erupted for an 8-0 third-quarter run. But in the fourth, Sergio Salcido didn’t convert to finish off what would have been the greatest comeback in program history, dating to at least 1981, when SU’s oldest detailed stats are available.

Top-ranked Syracuse (11-2, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) chalked up its first loss in more than two months Friday night, when No. 4 seed North Carolina (7-7, 1-3) scored 13 first-half goals in its 16-15 victory at Koskinen Stadium on the campus of Duke University.

The Orange, which staged a 7-1 comeback to defeat the Tar Heels two weeks ago in Chapel Hill, did not advance to its fourth straight ACC tournament title game.

Here are three quick reactions to the game.

Run with me



Syracuse head coach John Desko said this time last year that what he feared most was playing a team twice in as many weeks. A 7-1 run over the final quarter and a half two weeks in Chapel Hill propelled the Orange to its eighth straight win. Early on Friday, North Carolina exploded offensively and picked apart the SU defense.

But the Orange exploded in the third on the strength of an 8-0 run to pull within one, 13-12, entering the fourth. Jordan Evans had career high six assists. Close defender Tyson Bomberry scored in transition. In the third and until UNC scored two goals in the fourth, it appeared Syracuse could pull off its largest comeback in program history.

Still, SU buried itself in a deep hole and didn’t counter a few UNC goals late to pull off the win.

Battle at the X

Two weeks ago, Syracuse senior faceoff specialist Ben Williams won eight of his final 12 chances at the X to provide the Orange the possession time it needed to beat UNC. Over the last three seasons, Williams has won about 60 percent of his opportunities against UNC senior Stephen Kelly.

On Friday, Syracuse lost 12 of the first 13 faceoffs. North Carolina turned what amounted to about 75 percent of possession time over the first 30 minutes into 13 goals and a nine-point lead at the break.

Williams responded in the third, winning eight of nine faceoffs in the frame and sparking SU’s eight unanswered goals in that frame.

Defense buckles down

The first half was marked by slow slides, sloppy on-ball defense and easy UNC shots on goal. Senior Scott Firman got blown by. North Carolina senior attack Luke Goldstock, who scored three goals and dished out three assists two weeks against SU, scored once and assisted twice.

In the second half, the defense benefited from more time off of the field — credit Williams’ turnaround — and cut off much of the alleys and crease area to give its offense a shot. What will be remembered, though, is Matt Lane hitting Brendan Bomberry with 26.8 seconds left to make it a one-goal game. On its next possession, SU didn’t cash in as the clock expired.





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