Syracuse men’s lacrosse team came from behind in dramatic fashion Sunday to win the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, tying Cornell on an improbable goal with four seconds left and then claiming the championship in overtime, 10-9.

“It’s our time of year,” said Kenny Nims, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player before a crowd of 41,935 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. “This is why you go to Syracuse.”

Senior Dan Hardy found an open Cody Jamieson 2:40 into the overtime period, and  Jamieson buried the game-winner to defend the Orange’s 2008 title.

“I’m a little bit at a loss for words,” coach John Desko said. “I can’t tell you how happy I am for our group.”

The latest title was in doubt from the beginning, when Cornell sped to an early 2-0 lead. Syracuse tied the game, but Cornell went up again with just 21 seconds left in the first period, leaving the Orange in an unfamiliar position: trailing after the opening session.

The teams traded goals in the second period, but Cornell went up by 6-4 at the half, marking only the second time in 2009 that Syracuse trailed at the break.

Goaltender John Galloway stepped up in the third quarter, making stops at close range in the first few minutes and allowing his team to keep pace with Cornell. The Big Red continued to control the game, and the score stood at 7-5 at the close of the third quarter.

Cornell’s Roy Lange scored with 5:31 left in the game to make the score 9-6. After Desko called a timeout, Stephen Keogh found the net off an assist from  Hardy to pull within two with 3:37 left.

Then Jamieson beat Big Red goalie Jake Myers less than a minute later to pull Syracuse within one. With 30 seconds to go, the game seemed lost to the Orange when Cornell gained possession, but the defense quickly forced a turnover. Keogh came out of the scrum with the ball, throwing a behind-the-back pass to Matt Abbott, who made his own behind-the-back pass to Nims. Nims’ goal in the final seconds forced overtime.

Cornell won the overtime faceoff, but Syracuse regained possession and set up the Hardy-to-Jamieson game-winner.

“I never did think we were going to lose,” Nims said. “Our guys never give up. Never count us out.”

Semifinals

Syracuse          4          4          6          3 − 17

Duke               2          2          2          1 − 7

Syracuse scoring:  Patrick Perritt 4, Kenny Nims 4, Cody Jamieson 2, Tim Desko 2, Dan Hardy, Chris Daniello, Stephen Keogh, Joel White, Jake Moulton.

Duke scoring: Max Quinzani 3, Zach Howell 3, Brad Ross.

Saves: John Galloway (Syracuse) 11.  Rob Schroeder (Duke) 11.

Cornell            4          4          3          4 − 15

Virginia           1          1          2          2 − 6

Cornell scoring: Rob Pannell 3, Ryan Hurley 3, Chris Finn 3, Rocco Romero 2, Max Siebald, David Lau, Roy Lang, Jonathan Thomson.

Virginia scoring: Steele Stanwick 2, Danny Glading 2, Garrett Billings, Shamel Bratton.

Saves: Jake Myers (Cornell) 8. Adam Ghitelman (Virginia) 5.

Championship game

Syracuse          2          2          1          4          1 − 10

Cornell                        3          3          1          2          0 − 9

Syracuse scoring: Cody Jamieson 2, Stephen Keogh 2, Dan Hardy, Josh Amidon, Patrick Perritt, Kenny Nims, Chris Daniello, Greg Niewieroski.

Cornell scoring: John Glynn 3, Max Seibald 2, Ryan Hurley, Rob Pannell, Rocco Romero, Roy Lang.

Saves: John Galloway (Syracuse) 10. Jake Myers (Cornell) 10.