The curse of No. 1 had nothing on never-say-die Syracuse.
The Orange seemed likely to become the latest top-ranked men’s lacrosse team to go down Saturday, trailing 10-5 late in the third quarter at No. 16 North Carolina. But Ben Williams got hot on faceoffs, emerging attackman Stephen Rehfuss scored two fourth-quarter goals and midfielder Sergio Salcido scored his third goal on an extra-man opportunity in overtime to lift Syracuse to a 12-11 victory.
The Orange (10-1, 4-0 ACC) improved to 7-1 in one-goal games, including three that have gone to overtime.
Syracuse had a chance to win it in regulation, but Tar Heels goalie Brian Balkam made a kick save on attackman Nate Solomon’s point-blank turnaround shot in the waning seconds.
North Carolina’s Jack Lambert drew a 30-second pushing penalty early in overtime, and Salcido converted a feed from Brad Voight to win the game.
The Tar Heels (6-6, 1-2) must either defeat Notre Dame next week or win the ACC championship to avoid becoming just the third team in Division I history to miss the NCAA tournament the year after winning the title.
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER
Freshman goalie Ryan Kern makes one of his career-high 17 saves Saturday in Navy's 10-6 upset of No. 4 Army at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
Navy Beats Army
Navy, playing for its postseason life, scored the last seven goals Saturday to upset archrival No. 4 Army 10-6 in front of 12,705 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The Midshipmen (6-7, 4-4 Patriot League) ended the Black Knights’ nine-game winning streak that included a win over Syracuse on Feb. 25. Army (10-2, 6-1) led 6-3 with 3:32 left in the third quarter before Navy took over, bolstered by a career-high 17 saves by freshman Ryan Kern. The Midshipmen, coming off of a loss to Colgate, clinched a spot in the Patriot League tournament and will have 10 days to prepare.
BU Upends Loyola
In more Patriot League madness, James Burr scored on a five-yard low-to-low look from the left side just over a minute into overtime to lift Boston University to a 12-11 win over No. 19 Loyola on Saturday. The Terriers (10-3, 4-3 Patriot League) clinched a conference tournament berth, their first in their four-year history. They trailed by three late in the third quarter, but rallied to take an 11-10 lead on a Michael Laviano goal with 3:26 left. The Greyhounds (7-5, 5-2) forced overtime when Alex McGovern finished a Pat Spencer feed at the 1:15 mark. McGovern had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but BU goalie Christian Carson-Bannister came up with a big save.
Reeves Outduels Molloy
Ben Reeves scored five goals and added five assists to lead surging Yale to an 18-12 win Saturday over Brown, as the Bulldogs clinched the Ivy League regular season title and top seed in the conference tournament. Reeves, a Tewaaraton finalist last year, outshone reigning Tewaaraton winner Dylan Molloy (three goals). His career-high 10-point game allowed Yale (8-3, 5-0) to win its seventh straight game and remain undefeated in Ivy League play. The Bulldogs could complete their first perfect Ivy season since 1956 with a win at Harvard on April 29. "We are getting better every day, but there is still a lot of work to do," said Reeves, who leads Yale with 28 goals and 56 points.
Providence Stays Perfect in Big East
Providence, the Big East’s breakthrough team of 2017, defeated 2016 darling Marquette 9-7 on Saturday, the Friars’ first win over the Golden Eagles in four tries. The key sequence came at the end of the third quarter, when Providence (9-3, 3-0 Big East) scored two goals in the final minute. Keenan Asaraf netted his second goal of the game with 57.7 seconds remaining, and then Brendan Kearns scored on a buzzer-beater.
Guterding, Bruckner Go Off in Duke Win over UVA
Duke’s dominance of Virginia continued Saturday, as attackmen Justin Guterding (six goals, four assists) and Jack Bruckner (six goals, two assists) combined for 18 points in a 20-11 victory for the ninth-ranked Blue Devils (10-3, 3-1 ACC). The Cavaliers (8-6, 0-4) likely would not have qualified for the NCAA tournament even with a win. The loss, Virginia’s 17th in the last 18 meetings with Duke, sealed that fate. The Blue Devils led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter and 10-2 at halftime.
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER
Hunter Moreland forges forward with one of his 19 faceoff wins Saturday, as Johns Hopkins controlled possession in a 13-11 win over Penn State at Homewood Field.
Hopkins Holds Off Penn State
Shack Stanwick had three goals and two assists and Hunter Moreland (19-for-28) gave Johns Hopkins the possessions it lacked in a loss to Ohio State last week, as the No. 14 Blue Jays defeated No. 5 Penn State 13-11 in a Big Ten battle Saturday at Homewood Field. Kyle Marr, coming on strong of late for Johns Hopkins (7-4, 2-1) added a goal and three assists in the victory. The Blue Jays led 10-5 at halftime after scoring two goals 29 seconds apart in the last minute of the second quarter. Patrick Fraser made it 11-5 early in the third quarter before the Nittany Lions (7-4, 2-1) woke up. Penn State scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter and then pulled within one late in the fourth before Joel Tinney iced it for Johns Hopkins with 37 seconds remaining.
D-III: Amherst Topples No. 2 Tufts
In Division III action, after No. 1 Salisbury went down Friday, No. 2 Tufts went down Saturday. Chris Albanese scored six goals to lead No. 14 Amherst to a 21-15 victory over the Jumbos. Amherst outscored Tufts 13-3 in the second half. Goalie Cody Tranberger made 12 of his 18 saves in the second half, while faceoff man Dylan Finazzo finished 23-for-38 at the X.