Varsity Wins Orange Alumni Classic

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Varsity used an 8-2 second-half run to break open a tight game and defeat the Alumni All-Stars, 11-5, in the fifth-annual Orange Alumni Lacrosse Classic Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Carrier Dome. Kevin Rice had six points (4 goals, 2 assists) to lead the current team to its fifth straight victory in the event.

The two teams combined for just four goals in a low-scoring first half before Rice ignited the Varsity offense. The senior attackman did most of his damage in the third quarter, tallying three goals and one assist in the period as the Varsity outscored the Alumni, 6-2, in the frame to take control of the game.

"I thought the guys got better as the game went on, which as a coach that's what you want to see," Orange head coach John Desko said. "And again, we're going against former Orangemen, so there's a fun side to it as well."

With the Varsity clinging to a 4-3 advantage, they scored two goals in the span of seven seconds to open up a 6-3 margin. Rice scored unassisted at the 4:40 mark. Zack Vehar then won the ensuing faceoff clean and fired to Rice, who whipped a pass inside to Dylan Donahue for an easy goal. The quick-strike tallies were part of a four-goal run that put the Varsity in front 8-3 with 2:43 left in the quarter.

Derek Maltz stopped the Varsity scoring spree by finishing a JoJo Marasco pass with less than a minute left in the third, but Jordan Evans and Donahue each scored in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to extend the Varsity lead to 10-4, putting the game out of reach.

Donahue finished the scrimmage with two goals and two assists. Nick Weston and Tim Barber also had multiple points for the Varsity, contributing one goal and one assist apiece.

The Varsity used four different goalies. Each one played a quarter. Bobby Wardwell started and made three saves. Warren Hill, Parker Ferrigan and Evan Molloy also saw time in the cage.

Tommy Palasek paced the Alumni All-Stars with two goals. John Galloway played the first half in goal for the Alumni and totaled six saves. Al Cavalieri recorded five saves in the third quarter and Dominic Lamolinara finished up, making two stops in the fourth.

The Varsity won 11-of-19 (.579) faceoffs, including 7-of-8 in the third quarter to help spark its game-clinching surge.

After the scrimmage, the two teams played a 10-minute fifth quarter of running time. Each side scored twice in the extra frame.

For the fourth year in a row, the Orange Alumni Lacrosse Classic featured a Legends game prior to the main event. The teams played two 25-minute halves of running time with Team White defeating Team Orange, 13-12. Brad Short scored the game-winning goal in extra time. Todd Freeman led Team White with four points (1 goal, 3 assists). Liam Banks garnered game-high scoring honors, tallying eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) for Team Orange.

The Orange concludes its fall schedule next Saturday at the HEADstrong Foundation Nicholas Colleluori Fall Lacrosse Classic at Ridley High School in Folsom, Pa. Syracuse will scrimmage Bellarmine at 10 a.m. and Binghamton at 11:30 a.m.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-12). For more information and the complete Colleluori Classic event schedule, visit www.headstrong.org.

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Dylan Donahue

Jordan Evans

Parker Ferrigan

Dominic Lamolinara

Derek Maltz

JoJo Marasco

Evan Molloy

Kevin Rice

Bobby Wardwell

Nick Weston

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