#TBT Orange Defeat Army 8-7 On Their Way to Winning 2008 NCAA Title
2/25/2016 11:12:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Syracuse hosts Army West Point this Sunday in their third home game of the season. The two teams have a long history dating back to 1921. As a part of the Centennial Season, Cuse.com is looking back at memorable matchups with each of the Syracuse men's lacrosse team's opponents this season. Today, we flashback to February 24, 2008, when the Orange blasted past Army in the third quarter in route to an 8-7 victory.
Syracuse, N.Y. - The dynamic duo of senior Mike Leveille, who'd go on to become the Tewaaraton Award winner,and junior Greg Niewieroski on the attack proved to be the demise of Army's defense, leading a third quarter push on offense to overcome a one-goal halftime deficit and defeat Army 8-7.
Leveille and Niewieroski combined toproducefour goals in the crucial third quarterand seven of the eight tallies on the day to lead the Orange to victory in front of a Carrier Dome crowd of nearly 5,000 fans.
'Cuse opened the contest with plenty of offensive opportunities, outshooting the Black Knights 26-12 in the first half. Despite having the shot advantage, Syracuse would close out the first half down, 3-2.
With 11:31 left in the third quarter, Niewieroski jumpstarted the Orange by tying it at three. Leveille followed up eight minutes later to give Syracuse its first lead of the day.
Leveille then hit Niewieroski for a score at the 2:16 mark, and added an unassisted goal 37 seconds later, to cap the run and open up a 6-3 SU advantage late in the third.
The Black Knights declined to go silently as Army's Jason Peyer and Pat Fullerton registered two man-up goals of their own. Leveille responded accordingly and put two more goals away for the Orange to keep the lead, 8-5.
With 3:36 remaining in play, Army had cut the lead to one off of Black Knights' sticks Paul Wigdzinski and Peyer. Looking to seal the victory, Syracuse slowed down the pace of play and tried to hold the ball. Army gained possession twice more but the Orange forced two key turnovers with less than two minutes remaining to finish out the game and keep their home record perfect.
Leveille's four goals and two assists extended his consecutive games with at least one point to 41, while Niewieroski added a hat trick of his own. Support from the defense came from freshman goalie John Galloway who had six saves on the day. Senior Danny Brennan helped claim possession from the X 12-of-16 times.
The 63rd meeting all-time between the two schools will come on Sunday, with the Orange and Black Knights set to face off at 4 p.m. Tickets are available at Cuse.com/Tickets, the Carrier Dome Box Office and by calling 1-888-DOMETIX.
