Orange crushed: Syracuse sends UVa packing in double OT

By Whitey Reid

Published: May 24, 2008

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Virginia’s end of the field looked like a battle scene from the movie “Braveheart.”

Bodies were strewn across the grass playing surface. Goalie Bud Petit lay crumpled and motionless.

Meanwhile, Syracuse players raced to the center of the field with their arms raised high in the air. The celebration was on.

The third-seeded Orange, behind five goals from All-American Mike Leveille — including the game-winner with 1:43 left in the second overtime — came all the way back from a five-goal second-half deficit to shock second-seeded Virginia, 12-11, in front of 48,224 fans at Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Syracuse (15-2) advanced to Monday’s NCAA Tournament final. The Orange will take on Johns Hopkins, which upset No. 1 Duke in the other semifinal.

“Due to a lot of leadership we were able to keep on fighting and fortunately we stuck the last one,” said Syracuse coach John Desko, whose team had lost in overtime to Virginia during the regular season. “We felt fortunate today.”

UVa (14-4), which was bidding to make the finals for the second time in the last three years, saw its season come to a screeching halt.

“It’s hard to know exactly what to say when things end so abruptly and so unexpectedly like that,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “I thought the two teams played with a great deal of poise and courage. I’m proud of my team and the effort. I thought both teams made plays late in the game in overtime and we happened to not put a ball in the back of the net and they did.”

Virginia, which had been 8-0 in games in which it had led at halftime, led the Orange, 6-3, at the break.

When freshman Rhamel Bratton scored to make it

8-3 at the 9:06 mark of the third quarter, UVa certainly appeared to be on its way to victory.

Virginia’s offense looked as good as it had all season. Six players accounted for the team’s first six goals.

Meanwhile, the defense — anchored by Petit’s 16 saves — held the high-octane Syracuse snipers in check.

The Orange were able to pull to 10-8 on a goal by Matt Abbott early in the fourth quarter before Danny Glading — who scored a team-high three goals — answered to make it 11-8 with just under eight minutes to play.

However, that ended up being Virginia’s last goal of the season. The Cavaliers’ offense went into a funk from there, and Leveille tied the game with three minutes to play.

In the first overtime, Virginia’s Garrett Billings, Ben Rubeor and Will Barrow all had chances to win the game but were turned away by Orange goalie John Galloway.

Syracuse had plenty of opportunities as well. Petit made some of his best saves of the season to keep Virginia alive. His biggest came on a point-blank shot from Steven Brooks.

“He’s stepped up and sparked us the entire year,” said Virginia senior Ben Rubeor, who was held scoreless for the first time this season. “It was no different today. He kept us in it. He gave us opportunities in overtime.”

Midway through the second overtime, Virginia came within inches of advancing to the championship game.

Rubeor dodged around an Orange defender and fired a shot that would have beaten Galloway. Unfortunately for Wahoo Nation, the ball ricocheted off the right goal post.

“Give Ben that ball again and I’m pretty sure it’s going in,” Petit said. “I’ll take my chances with him.”

Less than a minute later, Leveille beat Petit for the game-winner.

“I knew it was going to go somewhere at my feet,” Petit said, “but there were a lot of legs in the way. Leveille is just a great lacrosse player. That’s why he’s a first-team All-American.

“He just put it low and away on me. I think it hit my stick and then my ankle and then it bounced in. It was a good shot.”

Leveille was thankful that he had a chance to redeem himself after committing what he deemed a “bad turnover” in the first overtime.

“I just wanted to get one on net and I tried to fire one low,” Leveille said. “Fortunately, it went in.”

Petit scoffed at the notion that Virginia may have let down after building such a sizable lead.

“I’m so proud of our team,” said the fifth-year senior. “We fought hard all day. It wasn’t going to be a blowout. Everyone knew that when the score was that big. It’s just tough to handle right now.”

Groundballs

Syracuse outshot Virginia, 47-35 and also held the edge in groundballs, 44-25. … The semifinal attendance of 48,224 was the third-highest of all time. … Virginia’s last overtime game in the NCAA Tournament was a loss to Johns Hopkins in 2005. … The all-time series between Syracuse and Virginia is now tied at 12, including a 4-4 mark in NCAA games. … The Orange will be gunning for their eighth NCAA title, its first since 2004.