CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Rahmel Bratton knew it was his time.

Living in the enormous shadow of his brother Shamel year after year, the junior midfielder felt it was his responsibility to step up. Shamel was limited with a hamstring injury. But even Rahmel was a bit surprised with just how much he rose to the occasion.

‘I definitely could not have predicted it would be a day like today,’ Rahmel said. ‘I knew I would have to play better and take more control of the offense with Shamel being down on the attack. But I didn’t think it would go like that.’

The way it went was a four-goal performance for the junior midfielder, three of which came during a game-changing 8-1 run over three quarters that brought the Cavaliers back from a 5-2 deficit. And a run that ultimately secured an 11-10 victory over the No. 1 Orange.

Even though Rahmel surprised himself, this was a performance Virginia head coach Dom Starsia saw coming.

‘Rahmel has been one of our most improved players since September,’ Starsia said. ‘I would have described his play up until today as consistent. But today he was spectacular.’

With longstick midfielder Joel White and middie Jovan Miller breathing down his neck all day, Rahmel dodged his way free time and time again. He knew how the Orange liked to defend and knew what he could do to counter that. Rahmel chose an early-season game with playoff-like intensity to show the lacrosse world that there is another Bratton very capable of putting the ball in the back of the net.

Rahmel bounced a laser by Syracuse goalie John Galloway to give the Cavaliers their first lead since 1-0 with six minutes to play in the second quarter. Rahmel scored again just four minutes later to give the Cavaliers an 8-5 lead heading into the half.

After a slow third quarter in which each team scored only once, Rahmel knew a 9-6 lead was not enough.

‘In the second it was just a matter of staying out of the penalty box,’ Rahmel said. ‘But the third was slow and then I knew we needed to set the tone early in the fourth to get on them quick.’

Shamel came out to start the fourth quarter. He fired a quick shot on the right side, but it sailed out of bounds. Then it was Rahmel’s turn to provide instant offense when his brother could not.

Shamel set a pick for his brother, who turned the corner and raced toward the net. He stopped on a dime 15 yards in front of the net and fired a bouncer past the outstretched legs of Galloway. The Cavs took a 10-6 lead with 12:46 to play in the game.

That was his fourth and final goal of the afternoon and left Syracuse defenders frustrated.

‘We knew what he was capable of, but we just didn’t adjust,’ Miller said. ‘You give him one goal and same on us, but it was one of those things where he kept going. He was like a boulder rolling down a hill.’

After playing Syracuse three times in his career and watching a fair share of film, Rahmel felt prepared going into the game. He studied Syracuse’s defense and knew where he could get his chances. Rahmel doubled his career goals against Syracuse in just one afternoon.

‘They put the poll on me so when you dodge you have to go hard, and I knew I would get shots late in the possession,’ Rahmel said. ‘After watching Syracuse for years, I knew they usually don’t slide someone to the poll, so once I dodged I was just looking to shoot.’

With his preseason first team All-American and All-ACC brother left with a trainer stretching his left hamstring for the majority of the game, Rahmel’s performance is something Starsia thinks will help the Cavs both short term and long term.

‘Rahmel will definitely help his brother heal by playing like that,’ Starsia said. ‘But Rahmel has given every indication that he is ready to take that next step, and then with Shamel coming back we will be that much more dangerous on offense.’

restern@syr.edu