Syracuse men’s lacrosse has experienced plenty of growing pains as it adapts to life in the Gary Gait era. After losing three straight games in February and another at Johns Hopkins in Dave Pietramala’s homecoming, the Orange were struggling.
The talent has always been there for Syracuse — with names like Tucker Dordevic, Brendan Curry and Owen Seebold leading the offense. Results are finally starting to come for the Orange, who have now pieced together two straight victories.
Dordevic was every bit the All-American that he’s been the past handful of years, pouring in five goals and two assists — including a viral between-the-legs goal that you’ll see on #SCTop10 — to lead Syracuse to the 14-10 victory over No. 10 Duke.
The Blue Devils now have the look of a team in need of answers, losing two out of three as the thick of ACC play nears.
Dordevic helped the Orange jump out to a 5-1 lead after one quarter, which featured a long-pole bouncer from Saam Olexo. Seebold and Mikey Berkman opened the second quarter with goals to make it 7-1. Matteo Corsi ripped a top corner goal to give the Orange an 8-4 lead into halftime.
Duke and Syracuse went back-and-forth the third quarter until Brennan O’Neill found his rhythm, scoring twice in a three-goal run at the end of the third quarter. Duke cut the deficit to one goal entering the fourth quarter, and did it again with 12:43.
However, each time the Blue Devils pushed, Dordevic was there to keep the Orange in front. He scored four second-half goals to keep his team in the lead, and Curry and Seebold added goals to clinch the win.
VIRGINIA BOUNCES BACK
The Virginia Cavaliers were dominated last weekend with the lacrosse community watching. Lars Tiffany and his team knew they needed a response, and they got one against Notre Dame at Klocker Stadium on Saturday.
Connor Shellenberger looked the part of a Tewaaraton frontrunner and Matthew Nunes was impressive in cage, helping Virginia lead throughout a 12-8 win over the Fighting Irish in ACC play. Shellenberger had three goals and two assists, while Nunes had 12 saves, many at crucial times, to fuel the win.
Four different scorers helped Virginia take an early three-goal lead after one quarter, and Griffin Schutz tallied back-to-back goals to make it 6-1 with 9:40 left in the half. Pat Kavanagh scored to open the second half and cut the deficit to 6-3, but that was as close as Notre Dame would get.
Shellenberger had back-to-back goals in the third quarter to give the Cavaliers a 9-3 lead, and Peyton Cormier added his second goal to push the lead to 11-4 with just over six minutes left. Notre Dame mounted a rally in the final minutes, scoring three times in 34 seconds, but it was too late to pull closer.
CHRIS GRAY GOES OFF
North Carolina may not have expected a challenge when it battled Bellarmine at home, but it got one for the better part of three quarters. Luckily, the Tar Heels have Chris Gray.
Down as many as three goals in the first half and trailing entering the fourth quarter, Gray put North Carolina on his back. He had a fourth-quarter hat trick to help the Tar Heels pull away for the 15-8 victory.
Gray finished with five goals and three assists, while Nicky Solomon chipped in three goals and an assist.
North Carolina led 3-2 after one quarter, but Bellarmine poured in four unanswered goals in a second-quarter run to take a lead into halftime. Kyle Playsted had two of his three goals during the run.
The Tar Heels scored three straight goals out of halftime, including two from Lance Tillman, to take the 7-6 lead. Bellarmine, though, was not done, adding goals from Playsted and Benny O’Rourk to take the 8-7 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Then, it was all North Carolina. Gray had four points, and Nicky Solomon scored twice, in an eight-goal fourth quarter that helped the Tar Heels cruise to the victory.
NICHTERN MAKES HISTORY
Brendan Nichtern dropped seven points to break Army’s all-time points record at Ridley Athletic Complex, and the Black Knights needed every single one.
With Army trailing for much of the first half against Loyola, Nichtern dropped five of his points in a second half run that allowed the Black Knights to leave Baltimore with the 14-12 Patriot League win. He set the program's all-time points record of 238 in the second half.
Loyola led by as many as three goals in the first half thanks to a goal and two assists from Joey Kamish. Bobby Abshire scored three goals over halftime to pull Army to a 7-7 tie in the third quarter. Nichtern added two more goals in the fourth quarter to give his team a two-goal lead, and Loyola would get no closer.