CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — With five unanswered goals in the second quarter, Syracuse rallied from behind, took the lead going into halftime and stole the momentum away from Virginia.

Out of the break, though, the Cavaliers showed why they’re the No. 1 team in the nation. They stormed back to take the lead with a scoring barrage and never gave it back.

‘We had a lot of momentum going into half,’ SU attack Derek Maltz said. ‘We came out a little flat in the third quarter, and against a team like Virginia you cannot do that. They’re a great team, they’re going to push the ball all day and credit them.’

Virginia (5-0) capitalized on nearly every opportunity it had in the second half and rolled to a 14-10 win over No. 6 SU (2-1) in front of 5,855 at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville. The contest was dominated by the run-and-gun style of play that defines both teams, with possessions quickly shifting back and forth and each side constantly looking for transition goals. While the Orange’s offense went on a scoring run in the second quarter, it failed to match that same type of explosiveness in the second half.

But until the end, Syracuse was always within striking distance. 

‘I think we competed the whole way,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘I don’t think any of our players came out like we were going to be underdogs. I think, especially at halftime, we had a lot of confidence playing the way we did.’

It didn’t last long.

SU’s possessions were severely limited in the second half because of its futility at the faceoff X, as the Orange went 1-of-9 in the third quarter and only 8-of-28 in the game.

Out of halftime, UVa scored four straight goals to take an 8-6 lead, propelling it to the eventual win.

‘In the second half, with the lack of possession time, I thought when we did get the ball, we were a little hurried to make something happen,’ Desko said.

Maltz ended Virginia’s run when attack Tommy Palasek found him cutting across the front of the net. Maltz caught the pass and sent it down into the net from the lip of the crease to get SU within 8-7.

But in the next two-plus minutes, the Cavaliers answered with two more goals to take back the momentum once again.

‘In the third period, they did an unbelievable job coming out of halftime and really controlling the ball, pretty much the entire third quarter,’ Maltz said. ‘They did a great job coming out of halftime and really controlling the tempo, and I think that’s what led them to victory this afternoon.’

The Cavaliers took an early 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, but Syracuse battled back and commanded the first half.

Senior midfielder Bobby Eilers put the Orange on the board with 6:19 left in the first quarter, when he sent a hard shot past UVa goaltender Rob Fortunato from about 15 yards out.

Virginia responded with a goal 39 seconds into the second quarter, but then SU went on a tear.

Eilers disrupted a Virginia clear attempt and sent a pass to JoJo Marasco, who found Tim Desko to the left of the crease. Desko caught Marasco’s feed and dazzled the crowd with a behind-the-legs shot to get the Orange within one.

He followed up his goal with another one just more than a minute later to tie the game.

Forty-seven seconds later, it was midfielder Hakeem Lecky’s turn. The redshirt freshman ran in down the left side of the offensive zone and shot from about 10 yards out for the score. Fellow midfielders Henry Schoonmaker and Matt Pratt then scored, completing SU’s 5-0 run.

But that was the end of Syracuse’s offensive dominance.

‘Our midfield was playing really well in the beginning, we were dodging and playing assertive,’ Eilers said. ‘And we just didn’t come out that way in the second half.’

The Orange was still within two with more than seven minutes left, but its offense went silent. In the final three minutes, UVa scored two goals to give it a powerful four-goal cushion.

In a game in which momentum constantly shifted, Syracuse struggled to maintain its offensive rhythm. And the potent Virginia offense was too much for the Orange to keep up with. 

‘That’s what happens,’ Eilers said. ‘Sometimes momentum comes toward us, sometimes it leaves us, and unfortunately, they got more of the momentum swings their way today.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on March 4, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman