Earlier in the week, Virginia head coach Dom Starsia admitted his biggest worry playing Syracuse was Orange goalie John Galloway. Funny thing is, after the game was over, Galloway admitted he was his own biggest worry, too.

‘To be honest, I was pretty nervous,’ Galloway said. ‘This was the most nervous I’ve been for a game in a while. The first quarter I think I really showed it.’

Though Galloway called his play Friday night one of his better performances against top-level talent, in reality, he struggled throughout most of the game. The goalie gave up three goals compared to one save in the first period and six goals in the third, allowing Virginia to slip away with a 13-12 victory.

‘We lost, so we’ll have to go back to the drawing board and see what works,’ Galloway said. ‘I hadn’t been playing well this week at practice. I was second-guessing myself and my condition.’

The attack was incomparable to what he’d seen so far that season. Before playing the No. 1 Cavaliers, Galloway had faced just one nationally recognized attack from the Tewaaraton Trophy watch list – Army’s Jason Peyer.

Virginia has three on the watch list: Garrett Billings, Shamel Bratton and Danny Glading. They pestered the goalie early and often.

Twenty-five seconds in, the elusive Bratton juked Orange midfielder Matt Abbott and cleared into free space 10 yards from the cage, creating a one-on-one situation between Bratton and Galloway.

Bratton fired a bullet top shelf, and the Cavaliers were on the board with a 1-0 lead.

‘(Bratton) is an extremely talented player, he’s very athletic and very hard to cover,’ Syracuse head coach John Desko said. ‘We knew that it was our worst fear. He creates a lot of opportunities for himself, and if he hits the cage, he becomes that much more dangerous.’

After recovering during a strong second quarter, in which the Orange managed to tie the score, Galloway seemed to find his footing against the brutal Cavalier attack. The numbers improved – five saves on 14 shots and just one goal. The attitude improved too. Galloway started the half with two consecutive saves, pumping his fists after the second, riling up the 16,595 fans in attendance.

‘After that quarter, I realized I needed to step it up or this team was going to run all over us,’ Galloway said. ‘I just felt like I was seeing the ball really well against a good team.’

A third quarter reprieve from Galloway could earn the Orange a victory. With the score tied at four, the game hung in the balance, contingent on the poise of the sophomore goalie.

But like in the first quarter, the Cavaliers came out strong. Danny Glading scored two of his three goals in a 19-second span to open up the half. The Cavalier contingent was on its feet as Virginia would end the period with a 10-6 lead, marking a 6-2 swing in one quarter.

‘It was great, that’s when we were really moving the ball well and taking good shots,’ Glading said. ‘I think that was a key – when you have a run like that, it really builds confidence. It’s great when your offense is running like that.’

A last-minute Orange surge in the fourth couldn’t right the damage done in the third, as SU dropped its first loss off the season. It was the first time Galloway had been defeated since May 3, 2008, a one-point loss to Colgate.

After the game, a drained Galloway made sense of the loss. There was no doubt he was tentative to start. It was a series of matchups against the Cavaliers last year that Galloway attributes those nerves to. Giving up a total of 25 goals to Virginia in two games last year had the goalie’s mind wandering all week.

‘I think how I played against them last year made me nervous, especially in the final four. That was very frustrating for me, and I don’t think that’s gotten out of my head,’ Galloway said. ‘This week I’ve been thinking about the games, and it was frustrating last year to let the guys down. I mean, Virginia could have very well been national champions, and that bothered me a little bit.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on March 1, 2009 at 12:00 pm