They couldn't believe their eyes.
In what felt like a punch to the gut, the Virginia men's Lacrosse team stood speechless and watched as the Syracuse Orangemen celebrated their 12-11 win in double overtime of the NCAA tournament semifinal.
In less than 20 minutes, the Cavaliers went from a feeling of elation, to complete and utter shock, as Syracuse reserve midfielder Tom Hardy shook off Virginia defender Nick Russo behind the goal, and jumped out front to fire a bouncing shot past goalie Tillman Johnson into the left side of the goal.
The crowd of 23,123, most of which were Orangemen fans who traveled to nearby Piscataway, N.J., went into a frenzied roar, leaving the Cavaliers to wonder what went wrong.
"I felt so bad for my team," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "They are such a great group of guys, and they had to be hurting. But we have a lot to be proud of. We had a lot of success out there this season, and we gave it our all."
With one minute remaining in regulation, Syracuse made a key turnover in their zone, giving possession back to the Cavaliers, who had an 11-10 lead. All Virginia needed to do was play keep away with the Orangemen defense, and they would be on their way to the title game for the second time in four years.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, a mistake didn't allow that to happen. Senior midfielder Brenndan Mohler, who had scored with four minutes left to give Virginia their current one goal lead, stepped out of the box with 36 seconds left, which gave the possession back to Syracuse.
The Orangemen would quickly take advantage, as Hardy provided regulation heroics by taking a pass and flying past the Virginia defense down the left side. He quickly cut to the middle and fired a shot past Johnson to tie the game up before heading into overtime.
Though both teams had several chances in both overtimes, no one could put it away until Hardy came up big for the Orangemen at the end of the second overtime.
"I think we all witnessed something special," Starsia said of the game. "I think it was one of the greatest lacrosse games I've ever been apart of."
Though junior goalie Johnson didn't stop those two goals, he certainly shouldn't be blamed for the loss, as he came up with amazing save after save, totaling 18 for the day. Syracuse seemed to be able to move around freely on offense, which may be attributed to the absence of All-American defender Mark Koontz, who suffered a season ending ACL injury in the ACC tournament weeks before.
The difference in the end might be the stellar play of the Orangemen defense. Although Virginia freshman sensations John Christmas and Joe Yevoli led the team with three goals each, they scored those goals with 18 and 13 shots, respectively. The suffocating defense forced the Cavaliers off balance, forcing them to make shots which Orangemen freshman goalie Jay Pfeifer had little trouble stopping. Pfeifer came up with a career best 19 saves for the day.
Virginia All-American attackman Conor Gill was stifled by fellow All-American defender John Glatzel, who kept the Cavaliers' only starting senior to one goal and one assist.
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It didn't appear that offense would be the problem when the game started, as Virginia quickly jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead a few minutes into the contest. Syracuse bounced back quickly, however, scoring two goals before the end of the first quarter. The two teams traded the lead throughout the game, with Syracuse leading the game by one going into the fourth quarter.
"We have a lot of talent on this team," Christmas said. "We all get along and there is great chemistry. We will have plenty to dish out next year as well. We will be back."
With only two starting seniors leaving the team, it is likely that the Cavaliers could find themselves in a similar situation next year with another shot at a NCAA title.
"The way this team played exceeded my expectations," Starsia said. "Though we fell short of our ultimate goal, a national championship, I am very happy with the way my team played and the effort that they put forth"
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