“It was a typical Virginia-Syracuse game,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said about the Cavaliers’ sudden-death overtime loss in last season’s NCAA semifinal match. “I don’t think any lead is safe in the game until it ends.”
The Cavaliers learned this lesson the hard way last year, as they saw their four-goal lead in the fourth quarter evaporate at the hands of one of the most high-caliber offenses in the history of the game. The Orange also lost a similar lead to Virginia — down five goals in the fourth quarter — in the 1994 NCAA semifinals, but given that Virginia’s loss only was a year ago, last year’s game continues to have more of an impact on the current crop of Cavalier players.
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since we lost and walked off the field Memorial Day,” senior midfielder Max Pomoper said, adding that the team has been waiting for tonight’s rematch. “It’s circled on our calendar.”
With the storied history between the two programs, little more is needed to make the game an exciting affair. But the outcome of last year’s match, combined with the teams’ No. 1 and No. 2 rankings this season, makes tonight one of the most hyped games of the season.
“I think this game is always really meaningful,” Starsia said. “I think both programs are mature enough to know that it’s still only February. But we understand that we didn’t win the last game last year — that we lost to Syracuse — and I think that sticks in our craw a little bit.”
Because the teams only have played four games apiece thus far, the No. 1 and No. 2 national rankings are not as meaningful as they could be later in the season. Each team marks the first challenging opponent for the other. Historically speaking, a close game is a very distinct possibility — one for which the Cavaliers are preparing.
“Coach Starsia has us do a section in a practice called ‘win the close game,’” Pomper said. “We go over ‘the games tied with a minute left,’ ‘we’re up by one with a minute left’ and all those types of situations. We pride ourselves on winning those close games. Last year was a great example — we won maybe five or six close one-goal games probably because of that.”
Against Syracuse, Virginia will have to contend with a very fast-paced offense similar to its own, adding to the challenge. Both teams use transition situations to capitalize on their athletic abilities and good field sense.
“Its really hard to slow this game down,” Starsia said. “The first one — if we happen to think about it in terms of playing them twice [because we might] play them later in the year — the first one tends to be more of a players’ game. We don’t know them a great deal yet. We don’t even know our own team yet.”
Virginia is coming off a 10-2 win against Mount Saint Mary’s — a solid performance, but one during which Starsia thought his Cavaliers made many small mistakes that the unforgiving Orange could exploit.
“[Tonight’s game is] the kind of game where every little thing gets magnified,” Starsia said. “Mistakes we might have made on this field we will get burned for [tonight]. At the same time, there are lots of plays to be made. If you can just keep playing no matter what, if you can be resilient and a little bit adaptable as the game is going on — the team that demonstrates a little greater discipline usually carries the day.”
It may only be the beginning of the season, but tonight’s game could preview another late postseason matchup.
“These games are 60 minutes long, and especially against Syracuse, there is a lot of ebb and flow in the game,” Starsia said. “Against Syracuse, especially, the game is absolutely 60 minutes long. No matter who’s ahead with five minutes gone in the third quarter, that’s not going to be the determining factor of who’s ahead at the final whistle.”
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