A quick take on Syracuse’s dramatic 7-6 come from behind win against Yale in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in College Park, Md.:
WHAT HAPPENED: Dylan Donahue capped a furious SU rally, beating Yale goalie Eric Natale with :13 left as SU advanced to championship weekend for the first time since 2009. Things looked bleak for SU as they trailed 6-4 with under 3 minutes remaining after they had been shut out for 43 minutes, spanning the entire second and third quarters. But Rice and Cometti scored back-to-back goals within six seconds of each other and Lamolinara made a huge save on Oberbeck’s shot with 55 seconds left.
WHAT IT MEANS: This was expected to be a battle between the SU offense and Yale defense, as the Bulldogs finished 7th in scoring defense, allowing just 8 goals per game. That’s exactly how it played out as Natale and Yale shut down SU for most of the game after the Orange jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. But Syracuse found a way to generate offense when it counted the most, and won another one goal game, as it seems to have done all year.
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STAR GAZING: National Player of the Year candidate JoJo Marasco is our MVP. He scored early in the game and then provided the two key assists in the fourth quarter that led to the Orange comeback, ending the day with three points.
WHAT’S NEXT: A matchup with the winner of No. 4 Denver/No. 5 UNC, which will be played Sunday at 12 p.m. The semifinals will be played on May 25 at 2:30 p.m. in Philadelphia.
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