Takeaways as Syracuse beats No. 13 UVA 14-9

Syracuse improves to 10-3 on the season beating No. 13 Virginia (7-5) at the Dome on Saturday. The Orange successfully bounced back after last week’s loss against North Carolina. Syracuse enjoyed a solid second half which saw them outscore the Cavaliers 7-3. Joey Spallina led the way with five points after being blanked in Chapel Hill. He is two points from setting a new school record for career points. Here are three takeaways from the Orange’s tenth win.

Easy does it in the clear game

Coming into the game, Virginia held opponents to 83.9% on clears. Syracuse went 20-21 (95.2%) today and it never appeared to be an issue.

They utilized a variety of methods getting beyond midfield. Short stick midfielders including Jake Spallina and Dante Bowen were key in making deep runs to advance the ball. McCool was also confident with long passes.

“When you make 16 saves, you get a lot of outlets to throw,” Virginia head coach Lars Tiffany said. “I thought they got the ball upfield quickly before we could set up our ten man.”

Virginia used a 10-man-ride a couple times but to no avail. In the fourth period Spallina essentially put the game away after Bowen found him one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

“Spallina would oftentimes come up and help in the middle of the field… right when we tried to 10-man,” Tiffany said. “[Spallina] really did well understanding that the goal was open but I got to make sure we just got this ball cleared.”

McCool bounces back

Jimmy McCool had a rough going last Saturday against North Carolina. He gave up 12 goals, only making seven saves, and was benched in the loss. Today, he had 16 saves only conceded nine times.

“Whatever happens in the last game doesn't matter…obviously the last one wasn't how I would have liked it to be but it doesn't matter,” McCool said.

With about two minutes left, Virginia had a numbers advantage after winning a faceoff. McCool stood tall to save a long shot and immediately sprung up to save a close-range shot and clear the danger. The crowd honored the effort with a loud ovation for the senior.

He stood tall in the first period with four saves as the Cavaliers won the first three faceoffs. McCool and the Orange shut out Virginia in the fourth period and the Boston-native had seven saves. Virginia failed to score in the last 18 minutes of the game.

“McCool making those 16 saves… we're trying to counter punch, but we weren't able to,” Tiffany said.

Rhoa steps up

Luke Rhoa’s four points tied a season-high for the senior midfielder. His first goal came in the second period which stopped a Virginia run. His second goal helped Syracuse go back up two scores to start the second half. They’d go on to lead by three or more for the rest of the game.

His third goal was a solo effort where he used a neat fake to free himself enough to find a clean shot and the back of the net. For his final point he threw a pass through traffic to find Wyatt Hottle for an easy score.

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