ITHACA, N.Y. – For a while, it seemed like the wayward barrage of shots misfired in the first half would come back to haunt Syracuse in its 11-9 win over Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfinals Sunday afternoon. For a while, it seemed like all those faceoffs won early on would be worthless. For a while, it looked like the rebirth of a powerhouse was coming to an end.

For a while.

No. 3 Syracuse needed one more comeback to save its season, one final push to rectify an overall sloppy game.

And Dan Hardy delivered.

With five minutes left and the score tied, the junior midfielder blasted an over-the-shoulder missile past Notre Dame goalie Joey Kemp in transition and SU slipped by the Fighting Irish in front of 6,121 at Cornell’s Schoellkopf Field to claim its place in the final four.

‘I saw we had an unsettled situation,’ Hardy said. ‘And we like to take advantage when they have fewer guys out there. I tried to go low on him and it went in.’

After the strike, the hulking 6-foot-4 Hardy turned toward the shady side of Schoellkopf Field, outstretched his arms and was mobbed by teammates. Steven Brooks added the insurance goal two minutes later, and a heartbreaking upset was effectively sidestepped. The Orange weathered excellent goaltending by Kemp in the first half and a furious run of five Notre Dame unanswered goals in the third quarter to advance to the final four in Foxborough, Mass.

Third-seeded SU (14-2) will face second-seeded Virginia, which knocked off Maryland, 8-7, Saturday. Two years ago the Cavaliers beat the Orange in the semifinals, 17-10.

It was far from easy. Sunday’s quarterfinal boiled with frustration. In possibly the best faceoff showdown of the season, the nation’s top faceoff man (SU’s Danny Brennan) dominated the No. 3 ranked draw man (Notre Dame’s Taylor Clagett). Brennan finished 17-of-24.

Gaining possession wasn’t a problem. Finishing was. Syracuse assailed Kemp with 30 shots in the first half, but only led 6-2 at halftime.

‘You got to keep thinking that if you keep taking those types of shots, eventually they’re going to drop,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘That’s an awful lot of shots for any goaltender to handle. He’s terrific and he showed it.’

With 20 saves total, Kemp kept Notre Dame’s heads above water. And in the third quarter the tide turned. The Irish shell-shocked SU freshman goalie John Galloway with five unanswered scores and carried an 8-7 lead into the final quarter. Low bouncers or high lasers, Galloway had trouble, and Syracuse’s season teetered on the brink of elimination.

‘(Kemp) outplayed me,’ admitted Galloway, who sported a massive ice bag over his shoulder after the game. ‘He’s a great goalie. He played unbelievable. In the third quarter I kind of let down …I just got away from my basics – staying on the pipe, staying strong and keeping my stick up.’

But when it mattered most – as he has all season – Galloway stepped up.

‘After the third quarter, I knew there were two ways this could go,’ Galloway said. ‘I could keep getting scored on or I could turn this around.’

Easy choice. The freshman held Notre Dame scoreless during the final 10 minutes and made five difficult saves in the fourth to give Syracuse a chance. And with SU’s top two scorers, Mike Leveille and Kenny Nims, suffocated by Notre Dame’s man defense, the middies stepped up.

Reunited with the top midfield line, Hardy registered a hat trick and had one assist, while Brooks added two goals. On the other midfield grouping, Pat Perritt jitterbugged through the defense for a goal to knot the game at nine with 6:23 left.

Much like SU’s fourth quarter comebacks earlier this season against Army, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins, the Orange settled down in the fourth. The helter-skelter shots dwindled, and Syracuse methodically executed in the clutch.

‘We just got out of control on our offense (in the third) and people started doing their own thing,’ Hardy said. ‘In the fourth quarter we really settled down and gained our composure and did the little things right.’

The mood afterward lacked any sense of celebration, or even relief. The players didn’t invade the field as a mob and throw equipment into the air when the final horn sounded, and the postgame press conference was more business than cheer.

Right around the bend awaits Virginia at Gillette Stadium on May 24 – the same team that stunned Syracuse three months ago, 14-13, in overtime at the Face-Off Classic.

‘Now that the hard work has paid off, it feels great,’ Leveille said. ‘But we aren’t satisfied yet. We’ll get back to work this week and shoot for two more.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on May 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm