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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The stage was set for Syracuse. The Orange put themselves in a position to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016.

SU was desperate for a win heading into the weekend, having dropped three consecutive games to close out the regular season. The Orange responded emphatically with their best performance of the season, taking down top-seeded Notre Dame 14-12.

Duke stood in Syracuse’s way for its first ACC Championship in nearly a decade. Two weeks ago, the Blue Devils dominated SU 11-7 in Durham, North Carolina. But Sunday gave the Orange a chance to avenge their loss. With a championship on the line, records and previous accolades were thrown out the window.

Syracuse went into halftime leading 5-3 and controlling the pace. Though Duke made the game interesting down the stretch, the Orange held on to secure the ACC Championship.

Here are some observations from No. 4 seed Syracuse’s (11-5, 2-2 ACC) 9-8 win against No. 3 seed Duke (12-5, 2-2 ACC) in the ACC Championship game:

Surviving a late Duke push

Syracuse was in complete control during the fourth quarter. The Orange held the ball with a 9-6 lead. With over six minutes remaining, Duke didn’t go down lightly.

It started with Liam Kershis’ goal with 5:40 remaining. Afterward, Syracuse tried to waste as much time as it could on offense. It held strong until a minute left in the game, when Max Sloat catapulted a shot to make it a one goal game. John Mullen won the ensuing faceoff, which gave Syracuse the chance to run out the clock.

Gait called timeout to set up a Syracuse play. Then, Owen Hiltz ran 30 seconds off the clock before Gait took another timeout. But out of the timeout, he immediately turned the ball over, giving Duke one last chance with eight seconds left. Duke got a final shot off, but couldn’t convert and Syracuse held on.

Duke’s offense held in check

Duke’s offense has been a weak point all season. During a stretch where they lost three-of-four earlier this season, the Blue Devils failed to score eight goals. But that wasn’t a surprise after losing Brennan O’Neill, Josh Zawada and Dyson Williams, who combined for 224 points.

Duke finally found its groove in the semifinals with 14 goals, its largest tally in nearly two months. It had eight different goalscorers, while nobody had more than three tallies. The emergence of midfielder Tomas Delgado proved to be key. After not scoring in his first 12 games, Delgado recorded five over the last two.

Syracuse decided to place a short stick on Delgado along with Sloat, despite him being Duke’s third leading scorer. Michael Grace was matched up with the Blue Devils’ Eric Malever.

Through the first nine minutes, Syracuse stifled Duke’s offense. The Orange dominated their one-on-one matchups, forcing the Blue Devils into tough looks. Duke didn’t score until Delgado buried his shot on the run.

Duke often tried attacking Syracuse’s short stick midfielders. Whether it was Jake Spallina, Ryder Ochoa or Carter Rice, the Blue Devils were reluctant to have a go at SU’s long poles.

The Blue Devils couldn’t carry their Friday momentum into the championship game, and it cost them.

Ball movement proves to be key

Syracuse’s success on offense is contingent on one simple thing; ball movement. When the ball isn’t glued to one person’s stick, it usually leads to potent performances. The problem for the Orange is that it isn’t always the case.

During its losing streak, stagnant offense was SU’s main problem. The Orange went away from moving the ball fast, which led to elongated droughts. It hurt them against Duke in their prior matchup, when they went scoreless in the first and third quarters.

In Friday’s semifinal, Syracuse did a good job of getting back to its roots. On its first offensive possession against Duke, Michael Leo found Hiltz on the wing for SU’s first score. But then, Syracuse’s lazy habits came back.

The ball was sticking more to players, rather than staying hot. Ill-advised decisions in one-on-one matchups led to turnovers, and a 12-minute drought ensued.

A quick swing to Tyler McCarthy allowed him to get by his man and tie the game. Less than a minute later, Joey Spallina found a cutting Finn Thomson on the crease to restore Syracuse’s advantage.

Later in the half, Leo dished a magnificent feed to Thomson. Thomson quickly whipped a behind-the-back score to put Syracuse up 5-2, while Aidan Maguire defended him. The split-second decision-making is exactly what Syracuse needed against a stout Duke defense.

Understandably, with Syracuse holding a multi-goal lead in the second half, it tried bleeding the clock. But the Orange still tried keeping the ball moving. When the ball got cycled to Spallina at the X, he found Payton Anderson for a shot from distance to put Syracuse up 7-4.

McCool stays hot

Jimmy McCool couldn’t have played better in Syracuse’s win over Notre Dame. He recorded a career-high 20 saves, proving he was the ACC Goalie of the Year. With the lights shining bright again Sunday, McCool continued to prove his mettle.

McCool wasn’t constantly getting peppered with shots, due to a slow pace and sloppy play from Duke. Though when called upon, he was up to the task. Outside of letting Delgado and Andrew McAdorey score on back-to-back shots near the end of the first quarter, McCool continually denied the Blue Devils.

In the second quarter, McCool was out of his net after Syracuse turned the ball over on a clear. He raced back to the net, sliding to stop Malever. McCool allowed Syracuse to take control of the game, building a three-goal lead in the second quarter.

On one occasion, McAdorey got free from about 10 yards after Syracuse mixed up a switch on defense. McAdorey unleashed a vicious step down, which McCool thwarted with his chest plate. It took a last gasp effort from Duke to finally score on SU’s shot stopper in the second quarter.

After Duke was awarded the ball, McAdorey controlled it from the restraining line and fired a desperation shot, with his momentum going away from goal. Due to the commotion in front of the goal, the ball went right between McCool’s legs. Outside of that, McCool had eight saves in the first half. He wasn’t as effective in the second half, but still finished with 10 saves.

Sloppiness on both sides

Turnovers were an issue for Syracuse the last time it played Duke. The Orange gave the ball up a season-high 18 times, while Duke coughed it up 14 times. Syracuse only averages 13 giveaways per game, which is the second-best mark in the country. Duke isn’t far behind with less than 15 per game.

Both struggled to take care of the ball throughout. Duke’s sloppiness kept giving SU a chance to take control of the game. However, Syracuse constantly shot itself in the foot with miscues.

To open the third quarter, Wyatt Hottle slipped while dodging downhill. His miscue was punished by a Benn Johnston goal on the other end, cutting SU’s lead to one. After Syracuse pushed its lead back to three, Thomson carelessly tossed the ball out of bounds for what could’ve been a crucial Syracuse possession.

Duke wasn’t immune either. Chris Cusolito controlled the ball at the X, but Billy Dwan III checked the ball out of his stick. One time, after getting the backup following a shot, long pole Henry Bard tried clearing, but Joey Spallina checked it out of his stick, initiating another offensive possession for SU. Trailing by two with less than five minutes left, Malever and McAdorey initiated a pick-and-roll, but Malever’s pass went awry. The ensuing offensive possession, the Blue Devils turned it over again.

Both teams finished with 16 turnovers, but Duke’s mistakes came during crucial points in the game.

Published on May 4, 2025 at 2:41 pm
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