Syracuse Achieves Highest NACDA Directors' Cup Fall Ranking in Program History
1/16/2015 10:39:00 AM | Men's Soccer, Cross Country, Field Hockey, General
Syracuse athletics is ranked 11th in the 2014-15 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Fall standings – the highest Fall ranking since the inception of the Directors' Cup in 1993-94. The Orange field hockey, men's soccer and men's and women's cross country teams all scored points.
"The steady rise in the NACDA Directors' Cup is something for all Orange fans everywhere to be proud of - and is a credit to how all at Syracuse pursue excellence on a daily basis," said Syracuse Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross. "Our student-athletes, coaches and staff make us proud every day, and we all believe passionately that the best is still yet to come.
"This highest-ever fall ranking is also combined with exceptional academic achievement by all of our teams, and the opening of new facilities will keep us competing at the highest levels of collegiate athletics."
Field hockey coach Ange Bradley led the Orange to the NCAA Championship game in its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. It was the program's third Final Four, and second in three years. Junior Emma Russell and freshman Lieke Visser earned All-American honors. Russell led the Orange in scoring with 20 goals, which led the ACC and ranked sixth nationally.
Men's soccer coach Ian McIntyre, the NSCAA South Region Coach of the Year, directed the squad to a share of the ACC Atlantic Division title and the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. An NSCAA All-American and the 2014 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, goalkeeper Alex Bono was also one of three finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy as the national player of the year after recording the best season ever for a Syracuse keeper. He set the school single-season records for goals-against average (0.55), shutouts (12) and minutes played (1,949).
Head coach Chris Fox guided the men's team to the NCAA Championship for the sixth consecutive season in his 10-year tenure. The fifth place finish is the best for an Orange men's team since 1957, and is their second consecutive top 10 finish. Led by All-Americans MJ Erb and Martin Hehir finishing in the top-40, the Orange put four runners in the top-40. The men's squad won its second Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, marking the fifth time in six years Fox's team has won a conference title, and also won the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship, marking the fifth time in six years the team has won that race.
The women's squad finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row, paced by junior Margo Malone's 63rd-place finish. She led the Orange in every race in 2014. The squad finished fourth at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship for the sixth time under Fox's direction.
"The steady rise in the NACDA Directors' Cup is something for all Orange fans everywhere to be proud of - and is a credit to how all at Syracuse pursue excellence on a daily basis," said Syracuse Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross. "Our student-athletes, coaches and staff make us proud every day, and we all believe passionately that the best is still yet to come.
"This highest-ever fall ranking is also combined with exceptional academic achievement by all of our teams, and the opening of new facilities will keep us competing at the highest levels of collegiate athletics."
Field hockey coach Ange Bradley led the Orange to the NCAA Championship game in its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. It was the program's third Final Four, and second in three years. Junior Emma Russell and freshman Lieke Visser earned All-American honors. Russell led the Orange in scoring with 20 goals, which led the ACC and ranked sixth nationally.
Men's soccer coach Ian McIntyre, the NSCAA South Region Coach of the Year, directed the squad to a share of the ACC Atlantic Division title and the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. An NSCAA All-American and the 2014 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, goalkeeper Alex Bono was also one of three finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy as the national player of the year after recording the best season ever for a Syracuse keeper. He set the school single-season records for goals-against average (0.55), shutouts (12) and minutes played (1,949).
Head coach Chris Fox guided the men's team to the NCAA Championship for the sixth consecutive season in his 10-year tenure. The fifth place finish is the best for an Orange men's team since 1957, and is their second consecutive top 10 finish. Led by All-Americans MJ Erb and Martin Hehir finishing in the top-40, the Orange put four runners in the top-40. The men's squad won its second Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, marking the fifth time in six years Fox's team has won a conference title, and also won the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship, marking the fifth time in six years the team has won that race.
The women's squad finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row, paced by junior Margo Malone's 63rd-place finish. She led the Orange in every race in 2014. The squad finished fourth at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship for the sixth time under Fox's direction.
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