ITHACA – It was bound to come down to the final minute.

In a game with four lead changes and eight ties, Pat Perritt delivered the knockout blow for Syracuse. His low shot past Cornell goalie Matt McMonagle with 48 seconds left gave the No. 12 Orange a 12-11 victory against the No. 4 Big Red on Tuesday night at Schoellkopf Field.

Syracuse might have been considered the underdog considering Cornell’s ranking and the play of McMonagle – who allowed only 4.62 goals per game before Tuesday’s contest. But the crowd of 4,873 that stood for the last few minutes saw Syracuse reach the .500 mark with its third straight win thanks to six goals in a hectic fourth quarter.

‘It’s hard to stay calm in a game like this,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘Basically a one-goal game going back and forth in both directions. It’s great to come out on top.’

The Orange (4-4) broke out of its mid-game scoring funk early in the fourth, with a goal by senior Brett Bucktooth two minutes in that tied the game, 7-7. On the ensuing faceoff, junior defenseman Steve Panarelli scooped up a loose ball and fired a shot past McMonagle, giving the Orange a one-goal lead. Cornell (7-2, 2-1 Ivy League) won the next faceoff and used three quick passes to score and tie the game, 8-8. The three goals were separated by merely 17 seconds.

The seesaw continued to rock, and with just under four minutes to go, the score was tied at 11. A big kick save by SU goalie Pete Coluccini kept the game knotted up and set up Perritt’s last shot.

Thanks to Perritt, who tallied three fourth quarter goals, the wild ride ended in favor of the Orange.

‘It was back and forth,’ sophomore Mike Leveille said. ‘In the end, we came down and we had the extra shot and scored. It was exciting, even for us as players.’

The game didn’t look as if it would be a nail-biter early. The Orange, which was led by attackman Joe Yevoli’s one goal and three assists, tallied the first three goals of the game midway through the first quarter. But it took Syracuse nearly two more quarters to score another goal, as the Cornell defense stiffened. Meanwhile, the Big Red began clicking on offense and brought a 7-6 lead into the wild fourth quarter.

It certainly did not come easily. With McMonagle looking like himself in the second and third quarters – the Cornell goalie entered the game allowing 4.6 goals per game – the Orange needed to do something to get the ball in the back of the net.

Syracuse managed 16 shots by halftime, and although it had good looks, Desko said McMonagle was handling them because they were low. Emphasizing high shots, the Orange broke through with eight second half goals, six in the fourth quarter.

The 12 total goals were one less than the Big Red had given up at home this season (four games).

Desko credited the patience of the offense, as well as its ability to keep shooting. Bucktooth, who had scored two of the first three Orange goals, was one attack frustrated by McMonagle, as he was held in check until the fourth quarter. But that didn’t stop him or the team from firing the ball at the cage.

‘We’re gonna keep plucking away,’ Bucktooth said. ‘They start falling for us, and then we just got our confidence and kept shooting in the net. The goalie can’t save them all, and in the end I think we’re going to get the best of them.

‘The last thing you want to do is stop shooting on a hot goalie. You gotta wear him down and keep firing them at him and hopefully some get through.’

Published on April 11, 2006 at 12:00 pm