FOXBORO, Mass – Senior attackman Mike Leveille's (Delmar, N.Y.) fifth goal of the afternoon sealed third-seeded Syracuse's (15-2) thrilling come-from-behind, 12-11, double-overtime win against second-seeded Virginia (14-4) in the NCAA semifinal round on Saturday in front of 48,224 fans at Gillette Stadium. Leveille powered the Orange rally in matching a career best with seven points on five goals and two assists. The win propels Syracuse to its 15th national title game in program history. It will play fifth-seeded Johns Hopkins at 1 p.m. on ESPN for the 2008 national championship.

Leveille extends his consecutive point streak to 56 games, the second longest nationally and the fourth longest in the Syracuse record books. He continues to climb the Orange career charts, listing ninth in goals (131), and tied for 12th in assists (81) and points (212).

Junior midfielder Matt Abbott (Syracuse, N.Y.) fueled the comeback with his first career hat trick, scoring all three of his goals in the second half. His first score of the contest, at the 7:01 mark of the third quarter, keyed an 8-2 Syracuse run to end regulation and force overtime.

The Orange scored five of the game's seven fourth-quarter goals, rallying from a 9-6 deficit at the onset of the period and a 6-3 disadvantage at the intermission. The win improves Syracuse's record to a flawless 4-0 when trailing after two periods.

After a Virginia goal at the 14:15 mark of the fourth stanza, Syracuse registered five of the next six goals in the final 12:30, beginning with Leveille's third score of the game. Abbott's third and final marker, at the 11:05 mark, trimmed the Virginia advantage to 10-8. The Cavaliers scored their eventual last goal of the contest with 7:52 on the clock, pushing its edge to 11-8.

Junior midfielder Greg Niewieroski (Watertown, N.Y.) ignited the Orange's decisive run with his lone goal of the game at the 6:15 mark. Junior midfielder Dan Hardy (Tully, N.Y.) recorded his second assist in as many goals after finding senior Brendan Loftus (Watertown, N.Y.) for an extra-man tally just 14 seconds later at 6:01, narrowing the count to one goal at 11-10.

Leveille buried the game's equalizer at the 3:00 mark off a carom in front of the Virginia cage. Syracuse has its chances to win in regulation, but Cavaliers netminder Bud Petit closed the door on a Niewieroski chance with 10 seconds remaining. Petit finished with 16 saves.

Syracuse's momentum carried into the first overtime. However, a left-hand attempt from midfielder Steven Brooks (Libertyville, Ill.) was stopped and rookie Jovan Miller's (Syracuse, N.Y.) three-quarter field streak was stifled on the doorstep. Niewieroski's rebound attempt was whistled dead.

Freshman goalkeeper John Galloway (Syracuse, N.Y.) made two critical saves in the final 2:30 of the first overtime, stopping Garrett Billings' try at the 2:27 mark and Danny Glading's last-second attempt as time expired. Gladings' chance with 52 seconds remaining kicked off the pipe. Galloway, who totaled eight saves, became the first true freshman netminder in NCAA history to record 15 wins in one season.

After a 30-second pushing penalty was assessed to Hardy at the 3:04 mark of the second overtime, Rubeor struck the post with 2:29 remaining, setting the stage for Leveille's dramatics.

The Orange's extra session offensive opportunities were created by senior faceoff specialist Danny Brennan (Farmingdale, N.Y.), who won both draws in the overtime periods and was 19-of-27 for the game. His team-best nine ground balls led Syracuse's 44-25 advantage in that category.

After Virginia's Shamel Bratton found the back of the cage at the 11:24 mark of the first quarter, the Orange answered with back-to-back scores within a one-minute span to secure its only lead of the half, 2-1. Leveille tickled the twine with 9:20 remaining on an unassisted tally before Loftus struck 57 ticks following with a left-hand attempt down the left alley.

The Cavaliers responded with five unanswered goals and grabbed a commanding 6-2 cushion. Virginia took advantage of three Syracuse penalties, scoring a man-up goal at the 10:21 mark of the second frame. Entering the semifinal round, the Wahoos boasted the nation's top-ranked extra-man unit (.516).

Junior Kenny Nims (Watertown, N.Y.) ended the Orange's scoring stalemate that lasted nearly 23 minutes with his 32nd goal of the season with 51 seconds remaining before the intermission. The junior took a feed from Leveille from five-yards out before beating Petit with a low shot. Syracuse trailed at halftime, 6-3, just its fourth halftime deficit of the year.

Glading paced the Cavaliers with four points on three goals and one assist. Billings added two scores as the Virginia attack boasted at least eight players with at least one goal. Defenseman Matt Kelly collected a team-high seven ground balls.

The Syracuse win evens the all-time series against the Cavaliers at 12 wins apiece. Additionally, the Orange knotted the count at three wins each in the NCAA semifinal round, dating back to a 12-10 loss against Virginia in 1986. Head coach John Desko improves his postseason record to 22-5, ranking first all-time in winning percentage (.815) and third in wins. Desko is 6-2 in NCAA semifinal games.

The Orange has won nine national championships, the first coming in 1983. Syracuse last hoisted the hardware in 2004.

(Courtesy: SU Athletics)

To see Kevin Maher's SU postgame coverage and a preview of Le Moyne and Cortland's national title games on Sunday, click "watch the story".