CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Friday night’s ACC men’s lacrosse tournament semifinal against Syracuse was officially Lars Tiffany’s 30th game as Virginia’s head coach. But for all practical purposes, it might have been the start of a new era for the Cavaliers with a 11-10 victory against the Orange. 

The Cavaliers, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, knocked off top-seeded Syracuse for the first time since their longtime rival joined the ACC and set up a championship date Sunday against No. 3 seed Notre Dame. 

“It was just a cool environment to be playing in tonight,” Virginia’s freshman goalie Alex Rode said after standing tall in the cage to make 10 saves while three of Syracuse’s goals came in transition. “UVA has a great tradition and we really just wanted to actually become a part of it.”

This might have been a return to normalcy at Virginia. The Cavaliers, owners of five NCAA championships and 17 ACC titles, were back in the ACC tournament for the first time since 2013. A raucous crowd filled the Klöckner Stadium bleachers much as it did at the height of the Dom Starsia era when it was easily one of the best venues in the sport. 

And UVA may have locked up a return to the NCAA tournament in Tiffany’s second season in Charlottesville. 

“A big step here in our second year as a staff was developing the attitude that the bigger the moment, the bigger the pressure, we’d thrive,” TIffany said. “It took a lot of work to get to this point where the men truly trust each other. What you saw tonight is a Virginia lacrosse team that is really bonding and playing at a higher level when the pressure is on.”

Sophomores Michael Kraus and Dox Aitken came up huge. Kraus scored two goals and had three assists, moving him within four assists of becoming the first player in school history to get 40 of each in a single season. Aitken came up with two goals and two assists as Virginia built a second half lead and then worked to hold on. 

Freshman midfielder Matt Moore finished with five points, including four goals and sophomore faceoff specialist Justin Schwenk won 16 of 23 and scooped nine ground balls. 

Yes, the future is bright for the Cavaliers, but finally, so is the present. Virginia, which snapped an ACC losing streak of 18 games earlier this season, will play Notre Dame in the ACC championship game Sunday.

“We’ve really just been using these wins and these things we are getting better at as confidence boosters,” Kraus said. “With such a short turnaround we just have to be able to rely on that confidence and our momentum to be able to play our best.”