May 24. 6:28 p.m. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – One by one, the Virginia players walked toward their goalie, Bud Petit, as he knelt, head buried into the Gillette Stadium grass.

Moments earlier, Syracuse’s Mike Leveille had flicked his 12-yard shot past Petit to send SU into the NCAA championship game with a 12-11 double-overtime win.

As orange jerseys cavorted around the field in jubilation, the solemn Cavalier procession in white continued toward Petit, whose acrobatics in net had frustrated SU’s potent offense all game.

Some teammates patted the fifth-year senior on the helmet, while others offered words of consolation. None were able to rouse Petit from his pose – he remained glued to the turf for upwards of a minute after the game ended.

‘I just don’t think I could have got up,’ an emotional Petit said afterwards. ‘…It was so hard to handle to try and walk right off that field. I gave everything I could today, and unfortunately we couldn’t pull it out.’

It was an exceedingly cruel ending for Petit, who put forth a career effort in his final collegiate contest. He outdueled Syracuse freshman goalie John Galloway, who let in several soft goals before settling in late and making some clutch saves.

Yet despite Petit’s 16 saves – including several in the fourth quarter and overtime that temporarily extended the contest – it was the Cavalier keeper on the ground afterward and Galloway celebrating.

‘He played lights out,’ Galloway said of Petit. ‘He was making save after save with his feet, with his stick, whatever he could get on it. I definitely got outplayed in the goal today.’

Petit is an unlikely candidate to be playing a starring role on college lacrosse’s biggest stage. He wasn’t even the Cavaliers’ starter until April. That title belonged to freshman Adam Ghitelman, the No. 1 goalie recruit in the country coming into the season.

But when Ghitelman’s struggles became too acute before Virginia’s April 5 contest at North Carolina, Virginia head coach Dom Starsia made the switch. It was Petit’s first start in four years.

The results? Petit was a revelation, leading UVa to a 4-2 record down the stretch (two losses both coming against No. 1 Duke). He was clutch in the Cavaliers’ two NCAA tournament wins, making game-saving stops down in the final minute of both matchups.

Petit was as good, if not better, throughout the entire game Saturday. He made seven first-half saves to hold the Orange to three goals before the break.

‘I thought their goaltender was terrific,’ Syracuse head coach John Desko said. ‘It’s a scary thought. You might have outplayed them there at least with our possessions early on and not have the lead.’

But Petit saved his biggest heroics for late in the game, after the Orange offense had willed the team back into the game was an 8-3 run over the game’s final 24 minutes. He made two stops in the final minute to help send the game into overtime – first deflecting a Dan Hardy’s point-blank drive over the net and then stuffing Greg Niewierowski on the doorstep.

He made three more saves in overtime, including snuffing a leaping, breakaway attempt by Jovan Miller.

In short, Petit’s acrobatics were vital for a UVa team that was dominated in ground balls (44 to 25), faceoffs (SU won 19-of-27) and shots (47 to 35).

Meanwhile, Galloway played a prominent role in the crater SU dug for itself – letting in several long-range shots and saving just nine of 20 Virginia shots on goal. But the freshman was key late in the game, when the Orange let up just two goals in the fourth quarter. He made two point-blank saves in overtime, and watched two more lasers ring off the post.

‘They played the same way defensively,’ said UVa attack Danny Glading, who had three goals and an assist on the day. ‘The goalie just stepped up and made some really big saves for them.’

The stats left no doubt as to who played better. Petit nearly doubled up Galloway in saves (16 to 9).

‘It was a tough day for me,’ Galloway said. ‘I wasn’t seeing the ball. It was a frustrating day, and the defense really dug in in front of me when they needed to.’

The dichotomy in the goalies’ play only made the climax of Petit’s day that much more harsh. Leveille’s low, savable shot careened from his stick to his ankle before trickling in.

It rendered Galloway giddy, knowing his freshman year will end with him between the pipes and a national championship on the line.

And it left Petit with little to show for his gallant effort.

‘We had a couple tough breaks,’ Petit said. ‘It went into overtime and I think both goalies made some big saves, we hit the pipe and they go and score. It’s just tough.’

jsclayto@syr.edu

Published on May 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm