No. 12 Syracuse (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) looked as if it won its third-straight and continued its ascent following a historic opening-loss to Colgate. On Saturday in the Carrier Dome, strong offensive performances and Drake Porter almost led the Orange over No. 13 Virginia (3-2, 1-0). But they didn’t. The Cavaliers came back late in regulation, exploiting SU’s defense in a way no other team has done this season, and won 15-14, in overtime.

Timely scoring

Virginia ended both the first and second quarter with timely scores. Michael Kraus cut the Orange lead to one at the end of the first quarter with the seconds bleeding off the game clock. SU had been in control of the period but allowed the junior attack to slice through the middle of the defense and beat Porter.

In the waning seconds of the first half, Jeff Conner ran a give-and-go with Ian Laviano and slipped home a doorstep-chance to make it 7-6 Syracuse at the half.

On SU’s final possession in regulation, a broken play gave Nate Solomon space to the cage’s right and he fired but it was saved. After a faceoff violation by Danny Varello, and multiple missed shots, Mikey Herring had enough room to slip a shot past Porter and trigger a celebration from the mosh of blue jerseys on the sideline.

Two-sided

Earlier this week, SU head coach John Desko stood on the Carrier Dome turf and pondered which goalie UVA would feature. On Saturday, his suspicions were confirmed. Freshman Patrick Burkinshaw, who tallied 24 saves in his collegiate debut, patrolled the crease and displayed a mix of pure talent and rookie mistakes from a first-year starter.

In the first quarter, Jacob Buttermore darted to his right and shot at Burkinshaw’s net straight-on. The ball slipped past Burkinshaw’s left and Buttermore fist-pumped. As the game reset, the freshman goalie looked at his defense and tapped his chest as if to assign himself the blame.

On other shots, Burkinshaw was either poorly positioned or had no other blue jerseys between him. Entering the second half, head coach Lars Tiffany sent out sophomore Alex Rode, who was named a preseason All-ACC netminder. After recording an early save, Bradley Voigt slipped inside and opened the third frame scoring.

Sophomore standouts

Through three games, sophomore Jakob Phaup has emerged as SU’s premier faceoff option. He entered with a 73-percent win-rate. In his fourth contest, he dominated. Again. Facing Petey LaSalla and Justin Schwenk, Phaup earned 12-of-23 draws, drawing a litany of violations and establishing himself as the starter while Desko’s penchant to ride the hot hand at the X continued and worked out again.

A year ago, Varello won 16-of-26 chances at the X and handled Virginia. Yet he spent most of Saturday on the sidelines. He attempted five draws in relief of Phaup, won once and was substituted back out in the middle of the fourth quarter. Varello’s late faceoff control with 64 seconds left did grant SU a chance at the final shot of the game.

The added possessions allowed Buttermore, another sophomore, to continue his scoring streak.

He drove near the crease and fired a quick shot and netted the Orange’s first goal of the game. He later charged the alley, flicked his head up as if he were to pass and used the separation to slip one past Rode.

Buttermore’s three goals displayed the scoring ability that caused Desko to say after the Army game that the second-line midfielder had earned more playing time. With Tucker Dordevic out for the season with a foot injury and Lucas Quinn unavailable “for a few weeks,” Buttermore’s emergence has been key for SU, and it continued against the Cavaliers.

Published on March 2, 2019 at 2:32 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez