By Mike Barber
Charlottesville, Va. -- Virginia needed a murky, disputed tiebreaker to get into the ACC lacrosse tournament as the fourth seed. The Cavaliers needed their grittiest win of the year to upset Syracuse 11-10 and advance to their first championship match since 2013.
Freshman midfielder Matt Moore's career-high four goals and freshman goalkeeper Alex Rode stopped 10 shots for the Cavaliers.
The first-ever ACC lacrosse tournament meeting between longtime rivals Syracuse (7-6) and Virginia (11-4) looked like so many of their memorable regular-season meetings -- excruciatingly close. The two were never separated by more than two goals all evening.