The Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse team came back to beat No.2 Duke in overtime after a Blue Devil dominated regulation. The Orange was able to stay within striking distance by countering every Duke scoring run with a scoring run of their own .
The Blue Devils opened the first period with a three goal run started by Joe Robertson’s goal. Syracuse answered with a goal from Nate Solomon. This goal opened up opportunities for the Orange and Jamie Trimboli scored a goal which cut the Duke lead to 3-2. But the Blue Devils would not go away. They quickly scored another goal to close the period and give Duke a 4-2 lead.
The goal at the end of the half by Blue Devil Joey Manown started another 3-0 scoring run for Duke, extending the lead to 6-2 going into the half. Unlike the 3-0 run from the first period, Syracuse had no answer the Blue Devil’s dominant offense performance. The Orange outshot Duke in this period but could not seem to get any in the back of the net.
Coming out of the half, the sticks went cold for both teams. The Orange was able to hold Duke scoreless in the period for the first time all game. Syracuse out shot the Blue Devils 8-5 and was able to put one of those shots in the back of the net. Jamie Trimboli scored the only goal of the period and his second of the game during the final seconds of another man-up situation. The Orange had more chances to score because they grabbed more ground balls than their opponent. Syracuse was able to pick up 10 and Duke was only able to pick up two, giving Syracuse more possessions.
In the final period, both offenses were resurgent. The first goal of the fourth period came from Joey Manown in transition, his second of the afternoon, which put the Blue Devils up 7-3. Syracuse answered with a goal from Stephen Rehfuss. Then Duke scored another goal this time from Brad Smith. With less than six minutes left in the game, the Orange took over scoring four unanswered goals and tying the game. The last shot of regulation came from Brendan Curry whose shot hit the crossbar as time expired.
The beginning of overtime was a battle of the goalkeepers. Both Turner Uppgren and Drake Porter made significant saves to keep their teams in the game. With 41 seconds left in the first period of overtime, Brendan Curry, who had a quiet afternoon for Syracuse, scored the game winning goal to complete the comeback and the upset.
Each of these two teams had three players who led their team in scoring with two goals each. For the Orange it was Nate Solomon, Jamie Trimboli, and Stephen Rehfuss. For the Blue Devils it was Joe Robertson, Joey Manown, and Garrett Leadmon.
Syracuse is now 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. The Orange faces No. 11 Notre Dame, their seventh ranked opponent in a row.