FOXBOROUGH, MASS. -- Cody Jamieson's timing has been impeccable.
A transfer who wasn't cleared by the NCAA until days before Syracuse's penultimate game of the regular season, Jamieson scored both of his goals in the last 4 minutes, 6 seconds - including the game-winner just 1:20 into overtime - to lift the Orange to a 10-9 victory over Cornell in the NCAA Division I tournament final Monday at Gillette Stadium.
No. 2 seed Syracuse (16-2) won its ninth straight contest and captured its NCAA-record 11th national title thanks to the 5-foot-9, 200-pound junior attackman, who played in just six games, made one start and can shoot only with his left hand.
"The guys have faith in me, and knew I could put the ball in the net," said Jamieson, who scored eight of his nine goals this season in four tournament games. "That's just the way the cookie crumbles. I wish I could've played the whole season, but this is better than playing the whole year without a championship."
Jamieson's heroics came after senior midfielder Dan Hardy (one goal, two assists) received a pass and wound up for a shot from the right wing. But as Big Red sophomore defenseman Max Feely slid to Hardy, leaving Jamieson alone near the right post, Hardy dumped the ball to Jamieson, who took a few steps to his left and bounced an underhanded shot past Cornell senior goalkeeper Jake Myers (10 saves) and into the left side of the net.
"A guy like Dan Hardy, you've got to slide to him or else he's going to stick that," said Jamieson, who transferred from Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. "So my guy slid up and he passed it down to me, and I was wide open on the crease."
An announced attendance of 41,935 - the second-smallest crowd to watch a men's championship game since the NCAA moved the final four to professional venues in 2003 - watched the Orange play 55 minutes of uninspired, tepid lacrosse before rallying to become the first repeat champion since Princeton won three consecutive crowns between 1996 and 1998.
Freshman Roy Lang's goal with 5:31 left in regulation gave the No. 5 seed Big Red (13-4) a seemingly insurmountable 9-6 advantage. But goals from Stephen Keogh and Jamieson in a span of 51 seconds brought Syracuse back into contention.
