Shutdown in Charlottesville

SU MEN'S LAX FALLS TO UVA 17-12

G Dominic Lamolinara (14 saves) played well in a loss at Virginia

SU goalie Dominic Lamolinara jumped up and down in pure frustration, as Virginia players celebrated just outside of his crease late in the 4th quarter. Cavaliers attackman Mark Cockerton had just fired home his 4th goal of the night to give UVA a commanding 5-goal lead. For Coach John Desko and his squad, an alarming realization was just beginning to set in.

Just two weeks after being voted the #1 team in the nation in the NCAA Coaches' Poll, the Orange was going to fall to 0-2 in ACC Conference play. 

Welp, no one ever said this whole new conference was going to be easy.

WHAT HAPPENNED

The nightcap of the Syracuse/Virginia doubleheader started off well-enough for the Orange. Middie Hakeem Lecky (4G 0A) stormed down the right alley and buried a shot past Virginia goalie Matt Barrett (5 saves) to open the game's scoring. Kevin Rice (2G 0A) and Henry Schoonmaker (2G 1A) would follow with a goal each to give SU an early 3-0 advantage.

But Virginia would respond with a run of its own, scoring 5 straight goals to close out the 1st quarter. The Cavaliers were led on offense by attackman James Pannell (7G 0A). The sophomore, who is the younger brother of former Cornell superstar Rob Pannell, was dialed in throughout the night.

The two teams traded goals throughout the 2nd quarter, and the Wahoos entered half time with an 8-6 lead. 

SU came out strong in the 2nd half, and attackman Randy Staats (2G 2A) ultimately tied the game at 9-9 with 7:39 left in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately for the Orange, it was all downhill from there. 

Virginia used a dominant run at the face-off X to load up on time of possession and score 8 of the game's last 11 goals, en route to a 17-12 victory.

YOU CAN'T SCORE WITHOUT THE BALL

For the 2nd straight game SU was completely and utterly dominated at the face-off X and in time of possession. It seems as if John Desko is done hiding his frustration with starting face-off specialist Chris Daddio, as the head coach employed 4 different face-off men against the Cavaliers. 

It didn't matter who the Orange went with against UVA - none of them had success. Daddio won just 5 of 22 face-offs, and Mike Iacono, Austin Wentworth and Peter Macartney combined to win just 2 of 9 face-offs.  

That being said, it's beginning to look like another underlying problem for the Orange is its inability to pick up ground balls. Virginia won the ground ball battle with an astounding margin of 51-22. 

If this Syracuse team can't find a way to get its star studded offense more time of possession, the Orange is headed for an under-achieving season. 

NEXT UP

The Orange travels to Atlanta, Georgia to take on St. John's in the Cobb County Classic on Saturday, March 8th. 

Like me, you're probably wondering why Syracuse agreed to travel 7 states south to take on an in-state rival. I would assume it's because it's warm(er) there.

Glad this awful run of SU sports came just in time for midterms *sobs silently*.

~ Kevin Case