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Cardiac 'Cuse Roars Back to Stun Virginia

Cuse.com

New year, same score. 10th ranked Syracuse (3-1, 1-0) put together a stunning second half performance to beat #9 Virginia (4-2, 0-1) 14-13 in the Carrier Dome Sunday, the same score the Orange won by against UVA last season. 

The hero was redshirt senior Sergio Salcido, as he scored an unassisted goal with just fifteen seconds remaining to push the Orange ahead. He was one of three SU players to finish with five points, along with redshirt junior Matt Lane and sophomore Nate Soloman. 

Syracuse seemed lucky to even be in a position to have a shot at winning the game. After a dynamic first quarter from both teams saw the score line at 4-4, the Orange fell apart. The second quarter was all Cavaliers as junior Mike D'Amiro scored less than three minutes in to break the deadlock. UVA's freshman Michael Kraus scored the next three goals while the Virginia defense blanked Syracuse. Suddenly, the halftime score read 8-4 and the Orange seemed shell-shocked.

Head Coach John Desko's halftime speech must have been a good one because Soloman slotted home 31 seconds into the third quarter to give the Orange some life. It would be rather short-lived as Virginia tallied two more goals, this time from freshman Dox Aitken and senior Zed Williams, to make it 10-5 just four minutes into the half.

With time winding down in the third quarter, Syracuse finally woke up. The Orange scored four goals in a two and a half minute span to claw back to just a one-goal deficit. Four different Syracuse players scored during the run, but UVA's Kraus launched his fourth goal of the game with just under a minute to play to stretch the lead to 11-9 entering the final quarter. 

In the fourth, Soloman and Salcido scored seconds apart to knot the game up at 11. The two teams would trade blows like prize fighters for the next several minutes, with Lane tying the game at 13, tallying his third goal of the day. 

Credit Cuse.com
Lane and Salcido scored or assisted on nine Syracuse goals.

Lane would also be the one to lift Salcido on the field following the game-winner. Once the final horn had gone, the team stormed toward senior goalie Evan Malloy, whose 12-save performance made the comeback possible. 

Looking ahead, Syracuse will travel for the first time this season to the Big Apple to face St. John's on Saturday at 1 pm. The Red Storm have had a tough start to the season, opening 0-4.