CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Top-ranked Virginia scored 10 second-half goals and went on to defeat No. 3 Syracuse, 14-10, in front of 5,855 fans Sunday, March 4 at Klöckner Stadium. The Orange (2-1) held a 6-4 halftime lead, but the Cavaliers (5-0) outscored SU, 10-4, after intermission to hand the Orange its first loss of the year.Sophomore attackman Derek Maltz (Ashburn, Va.) recorded a career-high five points on three goals and two assists to lead the Syracuse offense. Maltz factored in all four of the team’s second-half goals, scoring three and assisting on one by redshirt senior Tim Desko (Syracuse, N.Y.) in the fourth quarter. Desko added four points in the contest, including tying Maltz for team-high scoring honors with three goals.
For Virginia, starting midfielders Colin Briggs, Rob Emery and Mark White combined for seven goals and eight total points. Briggs led the Cavaliers with three goals and one assist. Emery and White contributed two goals apiece.
The Cavaliers opened up an early 2-0 advantage on goals by Matt White and Ryan Tucker less than a minute apart. Senior Bobby Eilers (Simsbury, Conn.) responded for Syracuse, notching his first of the year at the 6:19 mark, to make it 2-1 heading into the second quarter.
The Virginia lead could have been more if not for the play of SU starting goalie Matthew Lerman (Villanova, Pa.), who made four of his career-high nine saves in the opening quarter. Lerman’s stop on 2011 Tewaaraton Award winner Steele Stanwick in transition late in the first period helped keep it a one-goal game.
After a Briggs goal pushed the Virginia lead to 3-1 in the first minute of the second quarter, the Orange scored five unanswered goals, including four in the span of 3:08, to charge in front, 6-3. Desko scored twice in the run, including a between-the-legs finish with his back to the goal, to ignite the scoring spree.
Briggs finally snapped the Virginia scoring drought, finishing a Stanwick pass with 48 seconds left in the half, to trim the Orange lead to 6-4 at the break.
Briggs’ late tally gave the Cavaliers a spark. Virginia stormed out of the locker room and scored the first four goals of the second half to reclaim an 8-6 advantage.
Maltz’s first goal of the game stopped the Virginia run and closed the gap to 8-7 with 3:19 left in the third quarter. However, the Cavaliers kept the pressure on as Mark Cockerton and Chris LaPierre scored 22 seconds apart to extend the Virginia lead to three, 10-7.
The Orange pulled within two three times over the final 17 minutes, but could not get any closer.
Overall, 11 of Virginia’s 14 goals were scored by midfielders as the Syracuse close defense held UVA’s high-powered attack to just two goals – one by Bocklet and one by Stanwick.
Faceoffs and ground balls keyed Virginia’s rally. The Cavaliers doubled up the Orange in ground balls (42-21) for the game and UVA faceoff specialist Ryan Benincasa won 20-of-28 faceoffs, including an 11-for-16 performance in the second half.
Lerman played the first three quarters in the cage for Syracuse before being relieved by sophomore Dominic Lamolinara (Arnold, Md.). Virginia goalie Rob Fortunato went the distance and made 16 saves to earn the win.
Syracuse continues its three-game road trip Saturday, March 10 when it opens BIG EAST play at St. John’s. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. at DaSilva Memorial Field.
Game Notes: Desko’s three goals increased his total to 11 goals in four career games against the Cavaliers … Sophomore faceoff specialist Ricky Buhr (Manhasset, N.Y.) registered the first point of his career with an assist in the fourth quarter … Syracuse is 62-9 since the start of the 2008 season … Four of the team’s nine losses during that time have come against Virginia.
Courtesy: SU Athletics
