image via Lacrosse Playground

In the most highly anticipated matchup this season, Virginia and Syracuse faced off as the co-No. 1 teams in the coaches poll on Friday night, but at the end of the day, it was the Orange who came out on top, 12-10. Virginia fell to No. 2 in both the coaches and media poll, as expected, and are preparing for a mid-week tune up against Vermont before heading to Baltimore for the big Face-Off Classic against Cornell.

Senior goalie Adam Ghitelman had a slow start on Friday, failing to record a single save in the first quarter as the Orange were able to put up six points. He turned it on later in the game, but despite recording 15 saves to Syracuse's John Galloway's nine, the Hoos were unable to pull off the victory.

But that game is in the past. The Syracuse defense proved to be just a little too much for the Virginia offense, and the Virginia D was reminded that they are a young squad with plenty of room for improvement. Being an early-season game, this really doesn't mean too much for either team in terms of the ultimate goal: hardware come Memorial Day.

The Cavaliers will host its final midweek game tomorrow night, with a face-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. This is the fourth straight year the Hoos have faced the Catamounts, who are coached by former UVa All-American Ryan Curtis. Curtis was a four-year letterwinner under Dom Starsia and won the Schmeisser Cup as the nation's outstanding defenseman in 1999, en route to a national championship. Virginia owns the series 3-0.