Syracuse 2009 Lacrosse National Champions

Today's NCAA Lacrosse National Championship provided all of the drama any sports fan could hope for. More scoring than hockey, faster than soccer, and more action than college baseball, college lacrosse is quickly becoming a popular sport. Games like we had today, on Memorial Day, prove why. Syracuse staged a roaring comeback to stun Cornell 10-9 in overtime. Syracuse won their 11th National Championship, most of any school.

Down by 3 goals with 3:37 left in the 4th, hope for the Orange was slim. The Big Red of Cornell were doing a masterful job of playing keep-away from Syracuse for nearly the entire 2nd half. That is the style of play that brought Cornell to the championship game. They built a quick lead against Virginia in the semi finals, and then milked away the clock with tremendous passing and discipline. However, this was a different game, as fatigue started to affect the Big Red.

Lacrosse is known for crazy comebacks, and this one will have to rank up there with some of the best. One of the reasons why is that a team can quickly score a run of goals if they can win the face-offs. That exactly what happened as Syracuse netted two goals to make the score 9-8 with about 1:30 left to go. Then came the ESPNEWS bonus coverage, because anyone could tell we were in for an epic finish. Syracuse won the face-off and made a quick rush, but were denied. They needed a steal against this careful Cornell team, but got fortunate to come up with one. With just under a minute left, the Orange called a timeout to set up one final play to determine a championship. Patience is often the key in lacrosse, but the Orange had to work quickly to get their final shot. Syracuse began to rush, and a simple pass went over a players head and out of bounds for a turnover.

The Orange needed one more steal, but it seemed impossible with under 20 seconds left. All Cornell needed to do was clear the ball and they would be National Champions. Syracuse's defense once again made a game-changing play, a steal at mid-field gave the Orange just enough time for one of the most clutch goals you will ever see. Syracuse's Matt Abbott fired the ball over his shoulder and it was tipped by a Cornell defender right into Kenny Nims's stick and a diving shot went past the goal-keeper for the tying goal with 4 seconds left.

With the momentum on Syracuse's side, it was no surprise that they won the game in the sudden death overtime. Dan Hardy rifled as pass to Cody Jamison, a player that was just reinstated a couple months ago, and it found the back of the net. Syracuse University 2009 Lacrosse National Champions.