Men's Lacrosse Jumps Up Rankings, Prepares to Face Brown
3/29/2001 9:53:37 AM | Men's Lacrosse
This week's opponent is Brown, a team that has been ranked as high as No. 12 in the coaches' top 20 rankings. Although unranked now, the Bears still garnered votes in the March 26th poll.
SU and Brown will faceoff against one another for the 14th time since 1986. The Orangemen control the series, 12-1, and have won the last three meetings.
Brown comes into this contest with a 2-2 record. The Bears beat Denver and Air Force earlier in the season and have since lost matches against Duke (16-10) and Loyola (11-7).
ON THE AIR
Radio
SU's games will be broadcast on the school's flagship radio station
for lacrosse, WFBL 1050 AM. Carter Blackburn will handle play-by-play
duties, while Syracuse equipment manager Kyle Fetterly will serve as the
color analyst. The broadcast can be picked up through
www.suathletics.com.
WAER FM 88 will continue its long-standing tradition of broadcasting the games.
Television
Time Warner 13 in Syracuse will broadcast the Orangemen's four
remaining home games and show them on a tape-delay basis. Ted DeLuca
will handle the play-by-play duties, while Dale Drypolcher will provide
analysis.
The dates the games will air are: April 1, 15 & 22 at 7 p.m. and April 11 at 8 p.m.
Syracuse vs. The Ivy League
The Orangemen are 151-45-2 all-time against teams from the Ivy
League -- good for a winning percentage of .768.
Since 1990, Syracuse has posted a 44-6 record against teams from the Ivy Conference. Brown's one win against the Orangemen came during that span. On March 29, 1997, the Bears defeated SU, 20-12 at the Carrier Dome. The 1997 season was the last time Brown qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Cornell is the Ivy League team with the most wins against Syracuse (30). However, the Big Red have played the Orangemen more times than any other Ivy League school (84).
By percentage, SU has had the most success against Harvard (17-0). Syracuse's Record Against Teams from the Ivy League
Opponent W L T Pct.
Brown 12 1 0 .923
Cornell 53 30 1 .637
Dartmouth 19 4 0 .826
Harvard 17 0 0 1.000
Pennsylvania 23 1 1 .940
Princeton 9 5 0 .643
Yale 18 4 0 .818
Totals 151 45 2 .768
Bouncing Back ... Refocusing ... Syracuse StyleSyracuse held true to its remarkable trait of rarely losing two games in a row. Following the 11-10 loss to Johns Hopkins on March 17, the Orangemen bounced back last Saturday to defeat Princeton, 14-8.
There have been 19 times in the past 11 years when Syracuse has bounced back to follow a loss with a win. In fact, only once in 11 years has SU lost two games in a row - that was during the 1995 season when Virginia (15-7) and Johns Hopkins (14-13 OT) beat the Orangemen in back-to-back contests at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse went on to win the national championship in 1995 with a 13-2 record.
To illustrate Syracuse's resiliency even clearer, look how the team has responded after losses during the course of the past 20 years. Since 1981, there have been only three times when SU has posted two or more consecutive losses (1981, 1982 and 1995).
Last Year's Syracuse vs. Brown Game
No. 1 Syracuse 16, No. 14 Brown 5
April 1, 2000, Brown Stadium
Providence, RI
Liam Banks tallied a career-high eight points (three goals, five
assists), including one goal and four assists in the second half to lead
No. 1-ranked Syracuse to a 16-5 victory against Brown.
For the second-straight game, the Orangemen had 10 different players register goals, with the midfield playing exceptionally strong. Josh Coffman scored the game's first goal, on an extra-man situation, at the 8:06 mark of the first half. He also assisted on Devin Darcangelo's second goal of the season which came at the 1:15 mark of the first quarter and put the Orangemen ahead, 3-0. Coffman finished the first half with two goals and two assists and went on to tie his career-high in points (five) when he added an assist later on in the fourth quarter.
Brown scored the first goal of the second quarter when Michael Monfett fed Jimmy Mormile at the 12:50 mark. SU responded by going on a five-goal tear that upped the score to 8-1 at halftime. Tim Byrnes notched his second goal of the season and added an assist during the run, while Coffman had a goal and an assist and Banks chipped in with two goals. Stu Smith scored a goal, while attackmen Ryan Powell and Michael Springer, the team's top two scorers got into the action with assists in the second stanza.
The Bears recorded the first goal of the third quarter when Jeremy Metz scored off a pass from Monfett at the 12:41 mark. That is when the Syracuse fast break kicked in, thanks in part, to the face-off unit who won six-of-eight faceoffs in the third quarter.
The Orangemen dominated the faceoff circle, winning 21 of 25 faceoffs for the game.
AGATE RESULTS: 1 2 3 4 Final Brown 0 1 2 2 5 SYRACUSE 3 5 5 3 16Goals: SU - Liam Banks 3, Michael Springer 3, Josh Coffman 2, Ryan Powell 2, Tim Byrnes, Spencer Wright, Matt Caione, Sam Bassett, Devin Darcangelo, Stuart Smith. Brown - Jimmy Mormile 2, Jeremy Metz, Chrisjon Clarke, Michael Hughes.
Assists: SU - Liam Banks 5, Josh Coffman 3, Ryan Powell 2, Michael Springer, Tim Byrnes. Brown -Michael Monfett 2.
Saves: SU, 6 (Rob Mulligan 6, Bob Rust 0) Brown, 10 (Beret Dickson 10).
Shots: SU 44, Brown 22
Ground Balls: SU 64, Brown 39
Faceoff: SU 21, Brown 4
Penalties: SU 4/2:00, Brown 7/7:00
Extra Man Opportunities: SU 1/7, Brown 0/4
Att: 2,156
10,924 Pack the Dome for the Princeton Game
Last Saturday's Princeton game was attended by 10,924 spectators,
the largest crowd at the Carrier Dome for men's lacrosse this season and
the ninth-largest regular-season crowd at the Dome ever. With the
10,496 fans that packed the Dome for the Virginia game on March 3, it
marks just the second time that SU has had more than 10,000 fans at two
regular-season home games during the same season.
There have been 15 Syracuse lacrosse games in the Carrier Dome attended by more than 10,000 fans. Eleven of those games have been during the regular season.
Highest Single-Game Attendance Figures at the Dome
(Regular Season)
18,458 vs. Hobart 1990
18,244 vs. Johns Hopkins 1990
13,638 vs. North Carolina 1992
12,687 vs. Hobart 1988
12,061 vs. Hobart 1983
11,198 vs. Johns Hopkins 1987
10,960 vs. Virginia 1997
10,936 vs. Johns Hopkins 1991
10,924 vs. Princeton 2001
10,496 vs. Virginia 2001
10,381 vs. North Carolina 1994
Highest Single-Game Attendance Figures at the Dome
(Post Season - NCAA Tournament)
20,007 vs. Cornell 1988
14,544 vs. North Carolina 1991
11,843 vs. Pennsylvania 1988
11,523 vs. Brown 1990
Mulligan Records 500th Career Save Against Princeton
Fifth-year senior Rob Mulligan (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) had 13
saves against Princeton on March 24, which gave him more than 500 saves
for his career. He is just the sixth goalie since 1967 to reach the
500-save plateau. He is sixth on the school's all-time saves list with
508 career stops.
If he can continue the trend of the past two seasons when he recorded more than 200 saves, he will end up at least third on SU's career list behind Jamie Molloy (766) and Tom Nims (692).
In goals against average, Mulligan ranks fifth in the nation with a mark of 6.87. He is 11th in the nation in save percentage (.630).
Five games into the season last year, Mulligan's goals against average was at 7.68 and that was with having played 289 minutes. So far, Mulligan has lowered his GAA by nearly a goal a game from where it was last season, and that is with having played eight more minutes than he did at this time a season ago.
Mulligan has eight NCAA Tournament games worth of experience under his belt, including starts in the 1999 and 2000 national championship games.
Career Goaltender Saves at Syracuse
1. 766 Jamie Molloy 1977-80
2. 692 Tom Nims 1981-85
3. 632 Jason Gebhardt 1994-98
4. 612 Paul Bishop 1971-73
5. 537 Matt Palumb 1987-90
6. 508 ROB MULLIGAN 1998-present
7. 476 Chris Surran 1991-93
8. 466 Alex Rosier 1994-95
Syracuse Likes Its Chances When Coffman Scores
For the seventh time in his career and third time this season,
junior midfielder/attackman Josh Coffman (Carthage, NY/Carthage) had at
least three goals. He came back after being held without a goal in the
Johns Hopkins game, to tally three (and an assist) in the win against
Princeton.
The Orangemen are 21-5 when Coffman finds the back of the net. This season, Coffman is the third-leading scorer on the team with 17 points (10 goals, seven assists). He is tied for second on the team in goals scored.
Coffman notched his 50th career goal with three markers and two assists in Syracuse's 13-5 win against Fairfield on March 12.
Coffman also scored three goals in SU's season-opening win against Colgate. He had one goal and two assists against Virginia and dished out two assists in the loss to Johns Hopkins.
Coffman owns a string of 17 straight games with at least one point. His streak dates back to last season. He is the owner of 92 career points (53 goals, 39 assists).
Springer Has Scored at Least One Goal in SU's Last 12 Games
Sophomore attackman Michael Springer (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) had
two goals in the win against Princeton last week. He led the Orangemen
with two goals and three assists against Johns Hopkins the previous
week.
In the Hopkins game, Springer assisted on SU's last two goals of the game, which brought the Orangemen back from an 11-8 deficit with just under two minutes remaining.
Springer is second on the team in scoring this season with 20 points (11 goals, nine assists). He is the team's top goal scorer.
He notched his 50th career goal against Colgate on February 23. He had four goals and one assist in the win against Virginia.
Springer is averaging 2.81 goals per game for his career.
He has scored at least one point in every game he has appeared in for the Orangemen (21 games). Before the two points he was held to by Princeton, Springer owned a string of 11 consecutive games with four or more points. The last time he did not have four or more points was April 15, 2000 at Rutgers when he tallied one assist. Springer has had 17 games in his career in which he has posted four or more points.
He has 88 career points, including 59 goals and 29 assists.
Banks Breaks Out Against Princeton
Junior attackman Liam Banks (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) had his
best game of the season against Princeton last Saturday. He tied for
the team lead in scoring with one goal and three assists. One of those
assists was a behind the back dish to freshman Michael Powell on a
fast-break opportunity. His goal was a pretty putback in which he caught
a rebound out of mid-air and deposited it neatly past Tiger goalie
Trevor Tierney.
Banks has burned Princeton for 20 points (12 goals) in five games during his career.
On March 17, Banks scored twice against Johns Hopkins and in the process tallied his 50th career goal. He is the third Orangeman this season to accomplish the feat, along with Michael Springer (February 23) and Josh Coffman (March 12).
Banks has contributed multi-point performances in SU's last three outings. He is the team's fourth-leading scorer with 11 points (five goals, six assists).
While an appendectomy forced him to sit out the Navy and Army scrimmages, Banks returned to play in SU's season opener against Colgate. He responded with two assists.
Banks started against Virginia but was held without a point for the first time since May 8, 1999 (a string of 21-consecutive games in which he registered at least one point).
He has the most career points (93) of any player on the team with 52 goals and 41 assists.
Powell Only Freshman to Rank Among the Nation's Top 10 Scorers
After five games, first-year attackman/midfielder Michael Powell
(Carthage, NY/Carthage) is leading the Orangemen in scoring with 23
points (10 goals, team-high 13 assists) or a 4.60 point-per-game
average. He ranks seventh in the nation in points per game and is the
only freshman to crack the top 10.
Powell is tied for eighth in the country in assists per game (2.60) and is the only first-year player to rank that high.
He has tallied at least four points in every game this season. He is coming off a three-goal, one-assist performance against Princeton. He had two goals and two assists versus Hopkins. With SU trailing the Blue Jays, 11-9, at the two-minute mark, Powell took a feed from teammate Michael Springer (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) and fired a shot into the Hopkins net. The goal put the Orangemen within one with 1:52 left on the clock.
Powell's season high came against Virginia, when he scored six points on two goals and four assists. The four assists are the most by an Orangeman so far this season.
At times this season, Powell has served as a wingman during faceoffs. Against Virginia, he collected a team-high six ground balls. He is currently third on the team in groundballs with 19.
In the season opener against Colgate on February 23, Powell tied Springer with a game-high four points. He had one goal, three assists and three ground balls in his collegiate debut. He found the back of the net on the only shot he attempted in the contest.
With his two older brothers, Casey and Ryan Powell, sharing the school record for career points, it is nearly impossible to withstand drawing comparisons between the three. Although it is early in his career, it is an interesting fact that Michael Powell has scored just as many points as his brother Casey after his first five games. Casey Powell was the last freshman to lead a Syracuse team in scoring - that was during the 1995 championship season.
Syracuse Lacrosse Freshman Records (Since 1971)
Points in a Season
74 (33-41) John Zulberti 1986
67 (39-28) Casey Powell 1995
63 (42-21) Larry Storrier 1976
54 (28-26) Tim O'Hara 1977
52 (32-20) Brad Short 1979
50 (37-13) Oliver Hill 1972
42 (22-20) Barry Powless 1976
37 (21-16) Tom Nelson 1984
36 (14-22) Rob Kavovit 1994
35 (22-13) Charlie Lockwood 1991
34 (22-12) Rob McCarthy 1978
(11-23) Sid Hill 1971
33 (16-17) Ryan Powell 1997
31 (21-10) Brad Kotz 1982
29 (25-4) Gary Gait 1987
(11-18) Mike Cornelius 1974
Career Firsts for Perritt, Vallone and Lindsay
Midfielders Bill Perritt (Holtsville, NY/Sachem) and Steve Vallone
(Corning, NY/Corning East) each recorded their first career goals in the
victory against Princeton last Saturday. Vallone, a first-year player,
scored with 1:48 remaining in the opening quarter which gave SU a 4-1
lead.
Perritt, a sophomore, was responsible for Syracuse's 14th and final goal of the game with 1:01 remaining in the contest. Both goals were assisted by first-year midfielder Sean Lindsay (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Lakeland-Panas). They were the first two assists of his career.
Zone Busters: SU Man-Up Offense Ranks Third in the Nation
First-year attackman Brian Nee's (Cockeysville, MD/Boys' Latin)
contribution has come on the extra-man unit, where SU has seen a marked
improvement in this area compared to last season.
The Orangemen are third in the nation in man-up offense (12-for-29) with a .414 success rate. However, SU has cooled off on the extra-man during its last two games. The Orangemen have not scored with an extra-man in their last six attempts. They went a combined 0-for-6 in their last two games.
Nee has scored five of SU's 12 extra-man goals this season. He is fifth on the team in scoring with eight points.
