Matt Lane Shines as No. 10 Syracuse Beats No. 9 Virginia 14-13

By Nick Petraccione SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Standing at six feet and six inches tall, it’s hard to miss Matt Lane when he’s on the field. But despite his physical presence, he has been almost invisible on the stat sheet in the first three games of the season for Syracuse men’s lacrosse.

At the start of the year, Lane was expected to be a big contributor in the Orange offense because of his size, physicality and dangerous outside shot. But before today’s game, he had only tallied one goal and one assist.

That quickly changed against ninth-ranked Virginia. Lane exploded on the offensive end, recording three goals and two assists. Syracuse head coach John Desko said he knows what Lane is capable of and he can step up to the plate when called upon.

“Matt and I had talked after last game that he’d be getting a shorty (defender), especially if Mariano is bumped up into the midfield at times, and that person really has to make something happen. I think he understood that going into the game today and I think he rose to the occasion,” said Desko.

Lane’s poor outings to start the year had some fans on edge about his ability, but his teammates and coaches have stuck by him knowing he is a big piece to the puzzle on offense.

After the game, Lane carried himself in a quiet and humbled manner. He did not call the performance a breakout game for him because it was nothing special, it was just like he practiced.

“I think the coaches did a good job preparing us all week about what Virginia’s defense was gonna look like… I think we were just really ready as a team, not just myself, to take the shots that they were giving us. We were practicing all week so I just think I buried the shots we were trying to get,” said Lane.

The Orange are 3-0 when Lane records a point in a game this year and although it’s early in the season, keeping up this production for Lane will be crucial to the Orange’s success.

The win is Syracuse’s first in the ACC and their second comeback win this year when trailing by five goals.

SU will look to have another strong outing as they travel to their first road game of the season against St. John’s on Saturday Mar. 11 in Queens, New York.