A Syracuse team that was staggered after back-to-back losses to Johns Hopkins and Rutgers suddenly finds alone atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
The Orange followed up last weekend's 15-14 road win at Duke with a stifling 10-6 victory over Notre Dame to improve to 5-3 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.
"It was definitely a great win for us today," said head coach John Desko. "I thought we played pretty well on both sides of the ball. With such a stingy defense that Notre Dame has, I had hoped that we could get to double-figures and hold them under. Not many teams get to double digits against them.
Syracuse goalie Dom Madonna made 13 saves for the second straight game, his career best, and the defensive unit kept the Irish off the board on eight extra man opportunities.
"Defensively I thought we were terrific," Desko said. "I thought Dom had another special day making some one-on-one saves, especially on man-down. They were man-up eight times and they didn't score in those situations, so hats off to him and the man-down unit."
Syracuse scored the first three goals of the game, but then went scoreless for the next 16 minutes allowing the Irish to come back and tie the game 3-3.
Brendan Bomberry's goal with 2:11 in the half gave Syracuse a 5-4 halftime lead. Brian Willetts scored early in the third quarter to tie things up, but Notre Dame then went 26 minutes without scoring and the Orange scored four straight to pull away, including this hightlight reel goal by Tucker Dordevic, the hero of Syracuse's win over Virginia earlier in the season.
#SCTOP10
— Syracuse Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) March 31, 2018
Watch: https://t.co/5NbUQQSiVR pic.twitter.com/NjFxXuV3Cu
Nate Solomon had two goals and two assists to pace the Syracuse offense, and Bomberry and Jamie Trimboli both had two goals as well.
Willetts had two second half goals for Notre Dame (5-3, 1-1 ACC), but was the only player for the Irish to record multiple points. Notre Dame committed six of its 16 turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Terps Pull Away From Michigan
For nearly 40 minutes, first-year Michigan head coach Kevin Conry saw his Wolverines go head-to-head with his old team, defending national champion Maryland, but the Terps (8-1) scored the final seven goals of the game to post a 13-5 victory in both teams Big Ten opener.
Conry, the defensive coordinator at Maryland last season, has Michigan (7-3) off to a great start this season, highlighted by last week's win over Notre Dame, but they couldn't solve the defense he helped build during his time in College Park.
Trailing 6-3 at halftime, Brent Noseworthy and Chase Young scored early in the third quarter to pull the Wolverines within one, but Michigan then went scoreless for the final 25 minutes of the game. Michigan got off just one shot in the fourth quarter.
Redshirt freshman Logan Wisnauskus led the Maryland offense with three goals and two assists and freshman Bubba Fairman had a second half hat trick for the Terps. Dan Morris made 10 saves to earn the win.
Michigan won the faceoff battle with freshman Connor Cronin taking 13-of-22 from a trio of Terps and senior goalie Tommy Heidt made 15 saves. Noseworthy and Young each had two goals and an assist for the Wolverines.
Yale Controls Ivy League Showdown
No. 5 Yale spread the wealth on offense and got a dominant faceoff effort from Conor Mackie to down No. 14 Penn 12-6 in New Haven, Conn. The Bulldogs have won seven straight since dropping their season opener to Villanova and improved to 3-0 in the Ivy League.
Mackie won 16-of-22 faceoffs and picked up 11 ground balls to help feed the ball to Yale's offense.
After falling behind 2-1 midway through the opening quarter, Yale scored five straight goals and never trailed again. Jack Tigh led Yale with four goals and Ben Reeves added two goals and three assists. Adam Goldner had a hat trick for Penn.
Lehigh Clinches Patriot League Tourney Berth
Lehigh clinched a spot in the Patriot League tournament with a dramatic 7-6 win at Boston University. Mickey Fitzpatrick scored the game-winner off a rebound with 38 seconds to play.
Lehigh held the Terriers scoreless for the final 18:57 of the game to turn a 6-4 deficit into a victory. Lehigh goalie James Spence made 13 saves, eight of them in the second half, to pick up the win.
"James was outstanding," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "We've spent a lot of time this week with James - a lot of time in the film room and a lot of time on the field. He hasn't been very satisfied with his play and neither have we. We've been very open and honest about it. He stepped up huge today and played a spectacular game, and we really needed him to."
Andrew Eichelberger led the Mountain Hawks with two goals, and was the only player for either team to score multiple goals
Games of Note
FINAL: @Tehoka1 drops 2G, 3A to help No. 1 @UAlbanyMLax beat @StonyBrookMLAX 13-7 and stay undefeated. Connor Fields and Justin Reh DNP. pic.twitter.com/bJLKqDIX5r
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 31, 2018
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Playing without Connor Fields and Justin Reh, No. 1 Albany beat Stony Brook 13-7. TD Ierlan went 24-for-24 on faceoffs for the second time this season. Kyle McClancy had a hat trick, Tehoka Nanticoke had two goals and three assists and Davis Diamond, making his first start, had a goal and three assists.
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Trevor Baptiste moved to No. 2 on the NCAA all-time faceoff wins list and scored a key fourth quarter goal as No. 4 Denver rallied for a 6-5 win at No. 19 Georgetown.
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Keegan Kahn poured in seven goals as No. 8 Villanova downed Marquette 14-9 in Milwaukee. Trailing 4-3 early in the second quarter, Villanova scored the game's next eight goals to take command. Khan had three goals and an assist during the run.
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Loyola held the nation's No. 4 offense to just seven goals as the No. 11 Greyhounds beat Colgate 11-7. Jacob Stover made 10 saves and Loyola forced Colgate into 19 turnovers. Jay Drapeau matched his career high with four goals and Pat Spencer had two goals and four assists.
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Michael Kraus scored three of his four goals in the fourth quarter as No. 12 Virginia outscored Richmond 6-1 in the final 15 minutes to post a 14-10 victory over its state rival. Alex Rode made 13 saves in the win and Justin Schwenk won 16-of-25 faceoffs.
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No. 13 Cornell broke the 20-goal barrier for the third straight time, a first in school history, beating Dartmouth 22-11. Ten different Cornell players had multi-point games with Jordan Dowiak scoring a career-high five goals.
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No. 16 Bucknell kept pace with Lehigh and Navy atop the Patriot League standings at 5-1 and clinching a conference tournament berth with a 10-7 win over Army West Point. Reed Malas led Bucknell with three goals and Will Sands had two, including the 100th of his career.
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Penn State opened Big Ten play with a dominating 12-4 win over Ohio State. The Nittany Lions have now won three straight and five of their last six games. Colby Kneese made 16 saves while allowing just four goals in the win and Ryan Keenan had a hat trick.
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Massachusetts scored the final three goals of the game to beat Drexel 11-10 and give coach Greg Cannella the 200th win of his career. Ben Spencer scored the game-winner with 4:33 to play.
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Michael Panepinto scored with 14 seconds left to give Brown a 14-13 win over Princeton in the Ivy League. Brown's Phil Goss, who ranks third in the country in saves per game, had 17 in the win. Jackson Newsome had a hat trick for the Bears while Michael Sowers had two goals and six assists for Princeton.
Michael Panepinto gets the game-winner with 14 seconds left to lift @BrownLacrosse past @TigerLacrosse 14-13. Sowers with 2G, 6A. pic.twitter.com/puYvX0GO5t
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 31, 2018
Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard
No. 1 Albany 13, Stony Brook 7
No. 2 Maryland 13, No. 15 Michigan 5
No. 4 Denver 6, No. 19 Georgetown 5
No. 5 Yale 12, No. 14 Penn 6
No. 10 Syracuse 10, No. 7 Notre Dame 6
No. 8 Villanova 14, Marquette 9
No. 11 Loyola 11, Colgate 7
No. 12 Virginia 14, Richmond 10
No. 13 Cornell 22, Dartmouth 11
No. 16 Bucknell 10, Army West Point 7
No. 18 Lehigh 7, Boston University 6