Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Miracle comeback falls short as ‘Cuse drops third in a row, 14-12, to UNC

A furious rally was too-little, too-late as the Orange once again failed to get the job done in the regular season finale.

The Syracuse Orange’s late-season disappearing act continued on Saturday night in the JMA Dome.

Playing on Senior Night in the regular-season finale against the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Orange were once again unable to execute consistently enough to pick up the win they desperately need if they want their season to continue on beyond next weekend.

Instead, the game was defined by North Carolina’s aggression. It was an incredibly hard-fought and physical game on both sides, but it was the Tar Heels who came out on top in that regard and set the tone for the night.

The combination of UNC’s control of face-offs (17-of-28, 60.7), ‘Cuse’s deficiencies in the clearing game (10-of-17), Carolina’s domination of time-of-possession and shots (59-40) meant the defense was under constant pressure and the offense needed to rely on efficiency when they got their chances.

The result was predictable, until a furious race to the finish, that is. Thanks to a heroic eight first quarter saves from Jimmy McCool (on his way to another excellent showing of 16 for the game), the Orange were able to jump out to a 4-2 lead about halfway through the second quarter.

Eventually, though, the possession disparity became too much and the Tar Heels starting hitting enough shots to take control of the proceedings. They closed the half with four straight goals in a five-minute stretch to take a 6-4 lead into the break thanks to a trio of goals from Dominic Pietramala on his way to a career-high-tying six.

Finn Thomson (2G), back in the starting lineup for the first time in almost two months, brought the Orange within one less than a minute into the third quarter on a feed from Owen Hiltz (2G, 2A), but that was as close as the home team would get the rest of the night.

The Tar Heels fired back with three straight to take a 9-5 lead late in the quarter and put ‘Cuse in a bad spot. They weren’t completely done, though, as Tyler Cordes (1G) and Michael Leo (2G) both found the net 31 seconds apart to give SU apparent life and momentum heading into the fourth; or so we thought.

UNC scored with two seconds left in the quarter after a questionable call to take a three-goal lead and a Billy Dwan (3CT) two-minute unreleasable penalty into the final frame. They tacked on a man-up goal just 18 seconds in to go right back up by four, 11-7, and immediately snuff out SU’s ever-so-brief momentum.

Another goal from Finn was quickly answered by three more from the Tar Heels, and the rout was on with 3:01 to go in the game and a 14-8 UNC advantage.

But the night had one more twist for us, as a desperate ‘Cuse and a putting-their-feet-up Carolina decided to close the game on a flurry. With the ball and less than two and a half minutes to play, down by six, Joey Spallina (5A) found Sammy English (3G, 2A, 5GB, 2CT) for a goal that kicked off a run of four ‘Cuse goals in 1:37 to rather suddenly make it 14-12 with 37 seconds left.

While that was the final score, the drama wasn’t over just yet. Johnny Mullen (6GB) cleanly won the ensuing face-off ahead to himself, and ran straight down Marshall Street until he found Finn Thomson open in front of the crease.

Finn caught, spun and fired into the back of the net while falling down as the Dome erupted in a combination of disbelief and exultation. Finn waited for the signal, and then joined in himself. Unfortunately for Finn and those that were left of the 7,200-plus in attendance, the refs signal was premature as replay review revealed that the edge of Finn’s right glove landed in the goal mouth as he fell to the turf.

And just like that, the Orange, who had so much momentum in that moment there were practically flames trailing behind Johnny Mullen after that last face-off win, lost out on a chance to complete what would have been one of the most mind-bogglingly insane comebacks in recent, or perhaps even distant, memory.

Was it likely to happen? No, but neither was them even getting close to making up a six-goal deficit in less than 150 seconds.

In a way, those final few minutes were a perfect ending to the regular season for a wildly inconsistent ‘Cuse team. On the night of their last, best chance to pick up that win they need to all but guarantee an NCAA Tournament bid, they couldn’t help but be themselves.

They played well for stretches, they let their opponent take over the game for a time, they made mental mistakes and questionable decision making, and then at a certain point they finally felt enough desperation to turn it on for real. Unfortunately, it was too late.

In the ACC Tournament against Notre Dame on Friday (5:00 on ACCN), they’ve got one final shot to save their season. Will they feel the pressure in time and respond accordingly, or is it already too late?