14d ago other sports Edit

3 takeaways from Syracuse lacrosse's 18-13 ACC Tournament loss to Duke

Saugat Sen • The Juice Online

Staff Writer

Saugat Sen is a graduate of Syracuse University. He is heavily involved with the sites social media presence as well as coverage of football, basketball and lacrosse teams.

Second-seeded Syracuse was bounced from the ACC Tournament by third-seeded Duke on Friday, 18-13, in the semifinals.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Syracuse's defense goes missing

When Syracuse defeated Duke on March 20, 10-4, it was SU's most impressive defensive performance of the season.

Midway through the third period, the Orange had held the mighty Duke offense to just two goals, while jumping out to an 8-2 lead.

Reigning Tewaaraton winner Brennan O’Neill? No problems. SU stymied him as he shot just 1 for 11 on the day.

If that win over Duke was Syracuse's finest defensive performance of the season, Friday's matchup was its worst. The Blue Devils scored five goals in the first five minutes. O'Neill was a large part of that run, assisting on two of the goals.

Things would only get worse in the opening quarter as Duke scored four unanswered goals to jump out to a 9-2 lead. Syracuse would never recover from that.

Mark gets benched early

Syracuse's defense has been among the stingiest in college lacrosse this season due to the stellar play of goalie Will Mark. Mark has started all 16 games, and posted a 10.89 GAA, while saving 53.6 percent of the shots he's seen this season.

But as he goes, so did the defense. Mark, a Tewaaraton semifinalist, saw nine shots in the first quarter, and allowed goals on eight of them.

Head coach Gary Gait was desperate to change things up, and inserted Jimmy McCool into the game with roughly three minutes left in the first period.

McCool wasn't much better, notching six saves, but allowing 10 goals.

The end result didn't look as bad, with Syracuse pouring on six late goals, but the final score didn't show how lopsided the game mostly was.

Syracuse awaits its NCAA Tournament fate

It has been a renaissance season for the Orange, and their selection to the NCAA Tournament, a place they have not been since 2021, is all but assured.

The tournament field will be announced on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2, and the only question going in—aside from their opponent—will be if they retain home field advantage in the first round.

As for Duke, they will face Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game. Earlier in the day, the Fighting Irish trounced Virginia, 18-9, in the other half of the ACC Semifinals.

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