Takeaways from Syracuse's 12-10 loss to UNC in the ACC Tournament semifinals

It was certainly a lot better performance against North Carolina than the last time Syracuse faced the Tar Heels in a 14-9 one-sided defeat in Chapel Hill on April 4, but SU's run at defending its ACC Tourney title ended in the semifinals.

This time it was a fourth quarter UNC rally that did in the Orange (11-5) Friday night in a 12-10 final score, in front of an underwhelming 'Cuse crowd at American Legion Stadium, and sending SU home to await its NCAA Tournament bracketing on Sunday night (9:30 p.m. ET / ESPNU).

Simply way too many errors to knock off a strong rival and national title contender

Besides having a short-lived 9-7 lead early into the fourth quarter, after North Carolina scored to close within a goal, two SU veteran players lost their composure in the sequence.

Both John Mullen (delayed trip) who had lost the faceoff to UNC's fabulous Brady Wambach, and Billy Dwan (late hit) were penalized, UNC scored less than a minute later, and suddenly the game was tied at 9-9.

In all, North Carolina scoreed five fo the last six goals of the game to advance to Sunday's tourney championship against Virginia, who knocked off Notre Dame 15-10 in the other semifinal.

"In six-on-six defense, I thought we played pretty well," SU coach Gary Gait said afterwards. "Again, the transition game, a couple of faceoffs at the end of the half there, two quick goals. Second half, some scramble plays (resulted in goals). We just made too many mistakes to come out on top ."

The Orange had 16 turnovers (10 unforced) and those crucial fourth quarter penalties hurt, along with Wambach winning the key faceoffs (14-0f-26 overall) when he needed to against Mullen and Drew Angelo.

A successful season is down to win or go home, which would then end an unsuccessful season

The Orange will gather Sunday night as a team to watch the selection show bracket unveiling and learn the opponent and location of their first-round NCAA game.

The semifinal loss to a Top 5 ranked team will likely drop SU's seeding to around the No. 6 line, which would still ensure a Dome game next weekend, and likely a tougher matchup in the quarterfinals should the Orange advance.

Either way, the season is rapidly winding down for the heralded senior class of recruits led by all-time scoring leader Joey Spallina, who had four assists in Friday's defeat. Now it is the single elimination NCAA Tournament that awaits, proving one last opportunity for Spallina to deliver on his quest for a national title.

"We're still alive, we have much to play for," Spallina said after the UNC loss. "Plenty of teams are not playing anymore. We are excited to have one more guaranteed full week together. We love playing with each other, and we're just going too have that 'Game Seven' mentality."

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