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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Syracuse, one minute and one second from an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament crown, had the chance to run out the clock and lock up the title.

But Duke had other ideas.

Max Sloat ripped a missile into the net, slicing the Orange’s lead to one — the slimmest margin since the opening quarter. Still, SU’s John Mullen scooped up the crucial faceoff. Hold the ball. Kill the clock. Claim the crown. That was the plan.

Then came the twist. Attack Owen Hiltz turned it over with 22 seconds left. Duke had life.

The Blue Devils surged upfield, into their offensive set, and called timeout with eight seconds remaining. Out of the break, Benn Johnston took the ball at the top, guarded by Chuck Kuczynski. Johnston drove left. Kuczynski stayed glued. Three seconds. Johnston pulled back and dished a pass to a wide-open Eric Malever left of the crease. With the game on his stick, Malever fired — and missed wide.

The ball skidded out of bounds as the final buzzer sounded.

Syracuse were ACC kings in the Queen City.

The No. 4 seed Orange (11-5, 2-2 ACC) completed the improbable run to the program’s first ACC Tournament title since 2016, downing No. 3 seed Duke (12-5, 2-2 ACC) 9-8 on Sunday. SU, a team that limped into the weekend on a three-game losing skid while clinging to NCAA Tournament hopes, now vaults up the national seeding ladder with a championship trophy in hand and momentum to match.

“Just an outstanding team effort today,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said postgame, an ACC Championship hat and freshly-cut goal net in hand. “A Duke team that didn’t quit until the last second. But our guys stuck together.”

Syracuse players take turns cutting the net after holding on to a 9-8 win over Duke. Ike Wood | Asst. Photo Editor

When asked about the final play, SU goalie Jimmy McCool put it simply.

“I saw them run, pass,” McCool said. “Kid shot. It didn’t go in. And we won. So, I’m happy with that.”

McCool posted 10 saves and a .556 save percentage, earning him the ACC Tournament MVP award following his career-high 20 save display against No. 1 seed Notre Dame Friday. Syracuse defenders Billy Dwan III, Riley Figueiras, faceoff man Mullen and attacks Hiltz, Joey Spallina and Finn Thomson joined McCool on the All-Tournament Team.

Syracuse got diverse scoring, with Thomson, Hiltz and Payton Anderson each converting twice. It buckled down defensively to deny Duke early and did enough to lock it down late.

And the only thing that could stop Mullen was himself. After a 21-for-26 showing Friday versus Notre Dame, Mullen went 13-for-17 against the Blue Devils. Though on three of those lost draws, he jumped early.

“Thought it was one of our best team games of the year, where every position, every player contributed and made the difference today,” Gait said. “Just proud of the guys for believing in themselves and getting the W.”

After Syracuse defeated the No. 1 seed Fighting Irish 14-12 Friday in the semifinals, Gait said his message to the team was that it controlled its destiny. Despite staggering into Charlotte on a three-game skid, Syracuse had a clean slate — and a chance to rewrite its postseason resume. By the end, the Orange had turned bubble talk into title talk.

But to get there, SU had to protect a three-goal lead entering the fourth quarter.

Syracuse’s top cover defender Figueiras threw away a dead ball, allowing Duke a man-up opportunity. It took advantage, trimming the deficit to two with a Johnston top-bin finish. Though the Orange answered quickly. Anderson took things into his own hands, tiptoeing down the goal line and diving for the glorious finish.

With under six minutes left, Duke continued to hang around. Liam Kershis cashed in to make it 9-7. After forcing a Syracuse effort as the shot clock expired, a debilitating turnover terminated the Blue Devils’ search for another goal. They had the final say but couldn’t tie proceedings.

“They came here with the will to win, and they got it done,” Gait told ACC Network postgame of his team.

Short stick defensive midfielder Carter Rice hoists the ACC Championship trophy following Syracuse’s ACC Tournament victory over Duke. The Orange entered as the No. 4 seed but defeated Notre Dame and the Blue Devils. Ike Wood | Asst. Photo Editor

Spallina — who recorded four assists but was held scoreless against ND for the second straight contest — was the first player on the field just under two hours before opening faceoff. Headphones cocooned to his ears, Spallina launched shots in rhythm, orbiting the crease like a satellite locked in its path.

He rehearsed the move — the one that bears his name — whipping a no-look strike with his back to the cage from the wing. In the periphery, Duke was just arriving, stepping off the bus, stretching legs, sipping water. On the field, Spallina was already working. There was artistry in the repetition, rebellion in the silence.

Then, sound up. As more SU players pranced onto the field, “wokeuplikethis*” by Playboi Carti blasted from a portable speaker, breaking the muteness.

The sound came to a crescendo when the Orange scored first. An airborne Dwan III blocked Duke’s shot with his backside, Sam English picked up the ground ball, leading to Hiltz lashing a shot home from his preferred spot on the right wing.

But Duke had a response. Attack Tomas Delgado, who burst onto the scene by scoring five goals in his last two games, fashioned an open look in transition and scored his sixth goal in three games. Then, Andrew McAdorey snuck one by McCool to pull ahead in the final three minutes of the first quarter.

Yet, the turnovers seeped back into both teams’ games. The Orange had a season-high 18 turnovers when they fell to Duke earlier in the season. The self-inflicted giveaways Sunday — 16 each — disrupted offensive rhythm in a wafer-thin contest between two squads that rarely turn it over.

Hiltz noted that following Syracuse’s win over ND, ball movement was key to success. It was lacking in the Orange’s previous three losses, he said. But it returned Friday — and eventually Sunday.

When the Orange moves the ball on offense, it’s like a technically transmitted disease with no vaccine available to the opponent. After sloppy turnovers handed Duke the lead, SU weaved crisp passes into a fluid attack that culminated in two goals and a 3-2 lead after one quarter.

Spallina’s first-on-the-field reps paid off as he extended Syracuse’s lead to 4-2, spinning free of his defender with Baryshnikov-level footwork and tucked a shot into the bottom corner of the net. Thomson borrowed from Spallina’s bag of tricks, pulling off his eponymous behind-the-back shot for a three-goal advantage. Prompt. Promethean. Pernicious.

The Blue Devils applied their own pain to SU to close the first half. With one second remaining, McAdorey fired a shot through traffic that caught McCool unsighted and trickled between his legs. It was their first goal in over 17 minutes.

Duke got within one when Johnston capitalized on a Wyatt Hottle turnover five minutes into the third quarter. But Michael Leo restored SU’s two-goal cushion with a diving delivery from the right goal-line extended. Anderson got in on the action sneaking one beneath goalie Patrick Jameison at the 6:20 mark of the third quarter.

Even when the Blue Devils chipped into SU’s lead with a leaping Delgado score, the Orange response was immediate. Forty seconds later, Hiltz converted into the bottom left corner to reinstate SU’s three-goal lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Syracuse didn’t just hang on — it held firm and walked off with hardware in hand. For a team left for dead just days ago, the message was clear: the crown fits — and the Queen City has new kings.

Published on May 4, 2025 at 2:27 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal