Perhaps playing to extend their season past this weekend, the 4th-seeded Orange knocked off top seed Notre Dame in the ACC semifinals Friday night in Charlotte, N.C., to advance to Sunday's championship game against Duke, a 14-7 winner over North Carolina in the other Friday semifinal.
Here are three takeaways from the victory that should secure an at-large NCAA Tournament bid for the 'Cuse:
Neither Mother Nature or late penalties could detour the Orange from completing the upset win.
Getting off to a quick start was crucial to SU holding on in the final minute of the game. Owen Hiltz notched the first goal of the game, and his first of five tallies which propelled the Orange offense all evening and to a quick 3-0 lead five minutes in.
With 10:21 left in the third quarter and SU up 9-7, a nearly 45 minute weather delay shut down play, with lighting spotted near Charlotte's American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Eventually only light rain fell for a few minutes on the field, and the game resumed with the Irish closing to within one goal (9-8), the closest they would come until the bizarre final minute of regulation.
Hiltz's beautiful fifth goal ripped into an empty Irish net from just outside the right box with 1:57 left put SU ahead 14-10, but things got dicey when SU was called for four penalties in the last minute of play which resulted in two ND goals for the final 14-12 margin.
While acknowledging the positives of the most important win of the season, the continued sloppy play remains a concern.
What a performance from goalie Jimmy McCool in the net with a career-high 20 saves, many in acrobatic fashion, especially in the second half. It was a gutsy game for the junior after some shaky moments during the late season losing streak.
Reserve attack Greg Elijah-Brown stepped in and delivered two timely pin-point goals, that turned out to be the eventual margin of victory. And, of course, Hiltz was fantastic around the crease all day.
John Mullen dominated the faceoffs against Irish standout Will Lynch 21-8, a key component to setting the tone of the win.
But with all those accolades being highlighted, SU still committed an unacceptable 11 penalties, causing two ND extra-man goals, and had 13 turnovers, many of the sloppy variety. That has to get cleaned up for the championship game and in the NCAA Tournament.
In the intimate ACC, there's little time to draw up a fresh game plan against familiar opponents.
After seven straight losses to the two-time defending national champion Irish heading into this season, SU has now won two in a row against ND. That's certainly a good sign heading into what will now be a quick rematch with Duke two weeks after a demoralizing 11-7 loss to the Blue Devils in Durham.
The coaching staff scouted the semifinal game later Friday night, and the Orange will practice Saturday afternoon in preparation for Sunday's championship game (12:00 p.m. ET / ACC Network).
A win would seemingly give SU a top eight seeding in the NCAA Tournament and a first-round home game on Mother's Day evening in the Dome. A loss might leave SU's seeding fate in the committee's hands, and result in a tournament road game.
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