Hiltz Leads #8 'Cuse to First ACC Win at Virginia

Saturday, March 29

Charlottesville, Va.

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

8-2, 1-0ACC

Virginia

5-5, 0-1ACC

Syracuse

Virginia

Hiltz Leads #8 'Cuse to First ACC Win at Virginia

3/29/2025 3:29:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Highlights Home Tickets Press Conference

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – An electric second half ended with three-straight Orange goals to give No. 8/No. 8 Syracuse a 12-10 victory over rv/rv Virginia on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Michael Leo and Owen Hiltz led 'Cuse (8-2, 1-0 ACC) with three goals apiece, with Hiltz scoring the last two goals of the game to give the Orange the win. Sam English recorded two goals and two assists in the contest, scoring his second with seven minutes and 15 seconds to play to tie the game at 10, before assisting Hiltz on the eventual game winner with 2:10 to go. Five other Syracuse players recorded points in the contest, as Payton Anderson (2g), Wyatt Hottle (1g), John Mullen (1g, 1a), Joey Spallina (1a), and Michael Grace (1a) boosted the Orange to their first conference win of the season.

Virginia (5-5, 0-1) had eight different players record a point in the contest and was paced in scoring by McCabe Millon (3g, 3a). Virginia's faceoff unit made an impact today, led by Andrew Greenspan while winning 16-of-25 at the X.

Jimmy McCool was a difference maker in the goal for Syracuse, stopping 17 shots today, just one shy of his career-best set last week against No. 20 Colgate. Virginia's Matthew Nunes recorded 16 saves in the affair.

How It Happened

Virginia started the contest strong, notching the first two goals of the afternoon before Hiltz got the Orange on the board at 11:04 in the first. Virginia responded with three more of its own to lead 5-1 as Payton Anderson scored with one second left in the frame.
A low scoring second quarter saw two goals from the Orange in the first 5:17 of the quarter thanks to Mullen and English, before the Cavaliers would raise their lead to two, taking a 6-4 lead into halftime.
An offensive showcase in the third quarter started with Syracuse coming out of the break swinging. A hat trick from Leo with a goal from Hottle flipped the script for the Orange, taking an 8-6 lead with 8:40 to go in the third period.
Virginia responded with two goals within a minute from Millon, tying the game at eight apiece before Anderson put the Orange up by one. Will Inderlied converted an extra-man opportunity with 2:18 to go to round out a combined eight-goal third quarter of action.
In the fourth, the Cavaliers got on the board first to take a 10-9 lead with 11:38 to play in the game. Not to be denied, English recorded his second of the afternoon to tie the game at 10 with less than eight minutes to play.
Hiltz scored a pair of goals in the final 2:10 of the contest to give the Orange a 12-10 win and their first conference win during the opening week of ACC play.

Behind the Numbers

Syracuse takes the all-time series against Virginia, 22-21, moving to 10-9 on the road.
'Cuse outshot the Cavaliers 17-5 in the final 15 minutes of play, shooting 52 times in the game with 28 shots on goal.
Hiltz recorded his 55^th consecutive game with a point, posting three goals and an assist in the contest.
McCool stopped 17 shots this afternoon, just one shy of his career-best from last week against Colgate.
Anderson notched two goals in his first game as a starter for Syracuse.

Up Next for Syracuse

Syracuse returns to the JMA Wireless Dome next Saturday, Apr. 5, to face Notre Dame, currently ranked sixth in the USILA DIvision I Coaches Poll, for an Orange Out game. The Orange and Fighting Irish are set for 2 p.m. with live coverage on ACC Network.
Tickets are available at Cuse.com/Tickets