By Dalton Ray–

The fifth-ranked Syracuse Orange held off seventh-ranked Louisville lacrosse by a final score of 13-10. The game in Syracuse, New York was the final regular season game for both teams. U of L finishes the season with a 12-4 record and 3-4 conference record.

The Orange jumped out early against the Cards and never trailed. In the first eight minutes, Syracuse scored three goals to Louisville’s zero. Syracuse led 8-5 at the half and had nine players score in the game.

Louisville’s top performer was Cortnee Daley. The senior led U of L with season high five goals on six shots. She is second on the team in goals with 37. Team-leading goal scorer Hannah Koloski scored her 37th and 38th goals of the year. Madison Hoover cracked double-digit goals after netting two shots, leaving her with 10.

Louisville simply couldn’t get over the hump. They were able to bring the game to one goal four times but never tied the game. U of L wasn’t able to clump enough goals together while making continuous defensive stances.

Goalkeeper Kelly Gielner has really been put behind the eight-ball. After coming back on the team, she has been forced into action against no. 13 Virginia and no. 5 Syracuse. The Orange rank fifteenth in the nation in goals per game with 13 and are top three in the nation with 234 goals on the year.

The Cardinals have dropped three straight games. After starting the year 12-1, which included the school’s best start ever at 7-0, Louisville is now 12-4 and have fell under .500 in conference play. In the first 13 games, U of L outscored teams 154-85. In the final three, they have been outscored 38-24 and hit double-digits only once.

Louisville has went from the top of the conference standings to the bottom in just two weeks. Of the eight teams in the ACC, seven are ranked in the top 20. The conference tournament in Blacksburg, Virginia is next on the schedule for Louisville. The sixth-seed Cardinals will face off against three-seed Notre Dame April 28. U of L has defeated ND the their two previous games.

Photo by Wade Morgan / The Louisville Cardinal