Notre Dame had 50 seconds left to force overtime.

After three quick outlet passes, the ball landed in the cradle of Irish attack Matt Kavanagh. Notre Dame’s leading scorer ran past the Carrier Dome’s 20-yard line with a full head of steam and a chance to tie the score.

But Kavanagh was called for a crease violation on his dodge attempt at the net and turned the ball back over to Syracuse.

“We knew Kavanagh was going to be a pretty quick, shifty guy,” said Syracuse defender Brandon Mullins, who was given the assignment of covering the sophomore.

On Saturday, the No. 9 Orange (5-3, 1-3 ACC) edged No. 7 Notre Dame (4-3, 2-1) 11-10 in front of a crowd of 5,454 in the Carrier Dome. The SU defense bullied the Irish attack, holding Kavanagh — who entered the game with a team-leading 20 goals and 11 assists — to just two assists.

“The defense was the best we’ve played all year, team-wise,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said.

Kavanagh entered the match coming off a seven-goal performance against Ohio State on Tuesday, which tied Notre Dame’s single-game record. And he had also scored at least three goals in five of the team’s previous six games.

“I just had to stay low and try to stay with him. I thought my defense did a great job helping me out when I needed slides,” Mullins said. “Like Coach said, I think this was definitely the best our defense has played so far.”

Syracuse played a zone defense against the Irish with Mullins shaded toward Kavanagh’s side. Sean Young drew the assignment of Conor Doyle, who led Notre Dame with four goals on the day. But Young — whose physicality led him to throw his body around — caused three turnovers and picked up three groundballs.

It was a battle each time Notre Dame entered the offensive third, but also a dominant performance from the Syracuse defense.

“I don’t think they scored a goal without having the ball for two to three minutes at a time,” Syracuse attack Kevin Rice said.

With Syracuse leading 1-0 midway through the first quarter, Matt Harris was called for a 30-second technical for holding, forcing a man-down situation. Six SU players packed within eight yards of the cage – Mullins shadowed Kavanagh, and Bobby Tait knocked around Doyle.

Irish long-stick midfielder Henry Williams finally got a shot off, but it was deflected wide by Scott Firman. Pat Cotter took a shot moments later but it was turned aside by SU goalie Dominic Lamolinara.

Kavanagh — who took a team-high seven shots — looked to tie the score at 3-3 early in the second quarter. But his attempt was denied by Lamolinara.

In the third quarter, a helter-skelter play led to a point-blank chance for the Irish. But Young checked Doyle, forcing a wobbly shot that was saved by junior Bobby Wardwell, who replaced Lamolinara in net at the half.

Moments later, a disgruntled Kavanagh was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty.

He walked to the 50-yard line with his hands on his hips and his head swaying back-and-forth.

Trailing 10-8 with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, SU midfielder Sergio Salcido rode Kavanagh hard to the ground. When he stood up, Young came over and sent him back to the ground and soon, the physical defensive effort would yield a marquee win for SU.

Saturday’s game against Notre Dame marked the beginning of the second half of the season. In the first half of year, Syracuse was troubled by star players and collected zero ACC wins.

But against the Irish, Kavanagh went scoreless and the Orange turned a page.

“We knew he was a really good player,” Young said. “We knew Mullins was going to draw that one-on-one matchup, so we had to do quick slides to him all game and know where he was at all times.”

Published on March 29, 2014 at 6:22 pm

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu