Men's Lacrosse Hits the Road to Face Fairfield
3/9/2001 3:16:09 PM | Men's Lacrosse
This will also be the first-ever "official" meeting between Fairfield and Syracuse. Last season, the two teams scrimmaged in the Carrier Dome. The Orangemen prevailed, 21-7.
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 six 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: March 18 & 25 at 7 p.m. and April 1, 15 & 22 at 7 p.m. and April 11 at 8 p.m.
Syracuse Holds On to the Top Spot in the Polls After a 13-7 Victory Against Virginia
Syracuse remained at the top of the polls after its second game of the season, a convincing 13-7
victory against then No. 3-ranked Virginia on March 3 at the Carrier Dome. It marked the worst loss
for the Cavaliers since the 1995 NCAA semifinals, when they lost to the Orangemen, 20-13.
UVA dropped to No. 6 in the most recent STX/USILA Division I Poll.
The win gave the Orangemen an 8-6 edge in the all-time series with the Cavaliers. SU has now won
six out of the last seven meetings with Virginia. The only time the Cavs have come out on top during this
stretch was in the 1999 NCAA championship game, when they defeated the Orangemen, 12-10.
Princeton (2-0) is ranked No. 2 in the polls. The Tigers defeated Johns Hopkins, 8-4, last Saturday in Princeton, NJ.
After a 13-5 victory against Duke on March 4, Maryland (3-0) moved up to No. 3 in the STX/USILA Division I Poll and the Warrior/InsideLacrosse.com Media Poll.
Rookie Powell Off to a Fast Start - Leads the Orangemen in Scoring
First-year attackman/midfielder Michael Powell (Carthage, NY/Carthage) had a strong game against
Virginia, scoring a game-high 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, he has served as a wingman during faceoffs.
Against Virginia, he collected a team-high six groundballs.
Powell is averaging 5.0 points per game. He leads the team in points (10), assists (seven) and groundballs (nine), and has found the back of the net on three of the four shots he has attempted so far in his career.
In the season opener against Colgate on February 23, Powell tied teammate Michael Springer (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) with a game-high four points. He had one goal, a team-high 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.
Syracuse on Spring Break in Florida
Syracuse first made the trip down to the sunshine state to play a game during spring break in 1994.
That year, the Orangemen played Yale at Vero Beach, Florida on March 11. There was no trip to
Florida in 1995, but the game against Yale resumed down south from 1996-2000.
SU has never lost a game in Florida (6-0). The Bulldogs got as close as 14-13 on March 12, 1996 at Delray Beach.
This year marks the first time that the Orangemen will play a team other than Yale. Last season, Syracuse defeated the Bulldogs, 16-8, at St. Andrew's School in Boca Raton.
Syracuse Lacrosse in Florida
March 11, 1994 vs. Yale (at Vero Beach) W 12-7
March 12, 1996 vs. Yale (Delray Beach) W 14-13
March 8, 1997 vs. Yale (Boca Raton) W 18-8
March 9, 1998 vs. Yale (Boca Raton) W 17-3
March 13, 1999 vs. Yale (Boca Raton) W 15-9
March 11, 2000 vs. Yale (Boca Raton) W 16-8
Scouting Fairfield
Fairfield is led by head coach Ted Spencer, now in his sixth year at the helm. His overall coaching
record is 43-36.
Last season, the Stags posted a record of 2-9. This year, they are 1-2 after a 12-7 loss at North Carolina to start the season, a 15-6 victory against Holy Cross on February 24, and a 10-9 loss to Cornell on March 3.
Freshman attackmen Troy Bamann and Tom Werney are at the top of the scoring column. Bamann has 14 points on four goals and 10 assists. Werney leads the team with nine goals and is second in points with 12. He had five points (three goals, two assists) against Cornell. Sophomore C.J. Kemp is the starter in goal. He is the owner of a .623 save percentage and a 9.45 goals against average.
Attendance Hits 10,496 for the Virginia Game
The attendance at the Carrier Dome for the March 3rd Virginia game was 10,496 -- the ninth-largest
crowd to ever see a men's lacrosse game at Syracuse during the regular season.
There have been 14 Syracuse lacrosse games in the Carrier Dome attended by more than 10,000
fans. Ten 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
10,496 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
Donahue Shares Award as Nation's Top Assistant
Assistant coach Kevin Donahue and Virginia assistant Chris Colbeck shared the Jay Gallagher
Award as the nation's outstanding assistant lacrosse coach, presented at the annual coaches' convention
in January.
The award is dedicated in memory of Jay Gallagher, a bright assistant coach who died prematurely of cancer. He started as a graduate assistant coach at Syracuse in 1977 and stayed through the 1979 season. He was a native of Garden City, NY and helped SU in coaching the defense and recruiting the Long Island area. Gallagher was a close defenseman at Cornell and was tri-captain of the 1974 team that finished fourth nationally. He earned second-team All-Ivy honors and played in the North-South game. Upon graduation, he served as an assistant coach at North Carolina.
Donahue, in his 13th season on the SU coaching staff, works with the midfielders and goaltenders and helps formulate offensive plays. Under his tutelage last season, midfielder Josh Coffman and goalie Rob Mulligan were named second-team All-Americans, while face-off specialist Chris Cercy earned honorable mention All-America status.
Head coach John Desko was also a recipient of the Jay Gallagher Award when he served as assistant coach at Syracuse. Desko replaced Gallagher as assistant coach in 1980.
Mulligan Moves Up to Seventh on School's All-Time Saves List
If fifth-year senior Rob Mulligan (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) records at least four saves against
Fairfield, he will move into sixth place on the school's all-time saves chart. He had 11 saves in the
Virginia game to move into seventh place and surpass Alex Rosier. Mulligan posted 12 saves in the
season opener against Colgate. He now owns 473 career stops.
Mulligan has eight NCAA Tournament games worth of experience under his belt, including starts in the 1999 and 2000 national championship games.
Last season, he ranked eighth among the nation's Division I goaltenders in goals against average (8.34). He was ninth in save percentage (.614).
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).
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. 476 Chris Surran 1991-93
7. 473 ROB MULLIGAN 1998-present
8. 466 Alex Rosier 1994-95
9. 431 Alan Brown 1967-69
10. 411 Jim Gyory 1983-84, 86-87
