Syracuse fans lined a fence and gave the Orange players a standing ovation. The team was parading out of Fifth Third Bank Stadium more than four hours after the game started.

But the fans weren’t celebrating a victory. That would have to wait. Seven minutes 10 seconds remained in the contest to decide a conference champion.

Only one goal separated Syracuse and Duke. And after a two-hour 57-minute weather delay, what was at stake was the difference between locking up an NCAA tournament berth rather than assuming it was.

Play resumed across the street at “Turf Field 1” and the floodgates on the Orange’s offense opened up. Five different players scored after the restart and SU cruised to a 14-8 victory.

No. 4 seed Syracuse (10-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) won its second consecutive ACC title over No. 3 seed Duke (10-7, 2-2) on Sunday afternoon in Kennesaw, Georgia. With the victory, SU clinched an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. After the delay, Syracuse outscored the Blue Devils by five goals in the final 7:10 to secure the win.

“Really an interesting day between the regular game and coming out for the last seven minutes,” Orange head coach John Desko said in a CuseTV interview. “I’d have to look back to see what happened. Everything happened so quickly, but it’s certainly great to have the win.”

When the two teams met in March, the Orange blew a four-goal, fourth-quarter lead. Faceoff specialist Ben Williams failed to win key possessions down the stretch and the Blue Devils knocked off SU before the Orange even had a chance with the ball in overtime. On Sunday, though, Syracuse did what it took down the stretch.

In three of the last four times these teams played, the game was decided by one goal. For most of the game on Sunday, this time would be no different. But that’s when the blowout began.

After the Blue Devils tied it up at two in the first quarter, Dylan Donahue caught a pass in transition from goalie Evan Molloy. With a three-on-two opportunity, Donahue carried the ball toward the net and took the space to wind up and shoot. That put Syracuse up by one again. But the play started with Nick Mariano checking a Duke player from behind and forcing the turnover.

And Molloy’s ability to pick the ball up, start the clear and kickstart Syracuse’s offense was a key throughout the game.

Molloy made another diving save with 11 minutes left in the second quarter. Then he made another quick pass to defensive midfielder Joe Gillis. And then the Orange scored another quick goal. Gillis carried the ball toward the net, shook off a defender and canned a shot from just a few yards out to give SU a 5-3 lead in the second quarter.

While the rebounds off Molloy’s saves bounced into the Orange’s sticks, a rebound off Duke goalie Danny Fowler went into Tim Barber’s stick. Barber caught it, wound up and finished to push Syracuse’s lead to three.

The Orange held its 8-5 lead in the third and perhaps even more importantly, Duke’s two most dynamic offensive players, Deemer Class and Myles Jones, combined for just two goals and no assists. In the team’s first matchup in March, Class had seven goals and two assists while Jones had two apiece.

Jones finally got on the board with 4:12 left in the third as he roll dodged, switched to his left hand and put a bounce shot past Molloy.

As the Blue Devils climbed back, Syracuse’s potential downfall mimicked its blown leads earlier in the season: at Johns Hopkins, at Cornell and on the road against this same Blue Devils team.

But in that game, Molloy was still on the bench as the backup for Warren Hill, Syracuse’s offense wasn’t as defined and Williams didn’t win the key faceoffs.

On Sunday, Williams won the first faceoff of the fourth quarter. After cycling the ball, Sergio Salcido, who has been an offensive spark plug throughout the second half of the season, threw a skip pass to Barber. The senior attack caught it, wound up and ripped it home.

It wouldn’t be that easy, though. Right after Barber’s goal, Jones scored his second by dodging down the left alley, beating Scott Firman and getting his hands free.

And just as Jones answered, so did Williams by winning his third faceoff in a row.

But that’s when the game was halted due to lightning. The field flooded with water and when play resumed, SU kept pouring on Duke with goals.

“I was pleasantly surprised with the emotion,” Desko said. “I thought after sitting around for a few hours, we’d be a little bit flat, but guys came fired up and ready to play.”

The fans that stood and cheered as Syracuse trekked to Turf Field 1 had to wait for their team to seal the deal. And after a dominant final stretch, those fans could cheer what they ultimately wanted: an ACC title.

Published on May 1, 2016 at 5:10 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds