Men's Lacrosse Takes on #19 Rutgers on Saturday, April 14
4/13/2001 10:07:21 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The third-ranked Orangemen (6-2) will be looking to string together back-to-back wins when No. 19-ranked Rutgers visits the Carrier Dome on April 14. Syracuse defeated No. 12-ranked Cornell Tuesday night, 14-10, at home. The Scarlet Knights come north riding a three-game win streak and sporting a 5-3 record, and a 2-1 mark in their league, the ECAC. Their most recent triumph was a 12-11 decision at Stony Brook on Tuesday, April 10. Rutgers' biggest win of the season was a 10-7 victory at home against then No. 10-ranked UMBC on March 31. Syracuse welcomes back former Orangeman Bill Dirrigl (a 1988 Syracuse graduate), who is now in his first season as head coach at Rutgers. A four-year member of the lacrosse team at Syracuse, Dirrigl was a part of four NCAA Final Four teams, serving as team captain his senior year. During that senior campaign, he earned All-America honors, while helping lead the Orangemen to an undefeated season and their second national championship. Saturday will mark the 37th meeting between Syracuse and Rutgers. The Orangemen own a 30-6 advantage in the series and have won the last two meetings, including last season's 16-8 decision in Piscataway, NJ.
Last Year’s Syracuse-Rutgers Game No. 1 Syracuse 16, Rutgers 8 April 15, 2000, Yurcak Field Piscataway, NJ
Matt Caione scored a career-high four goals, including three in the first half which helped top-ranked Syracuse jump out to an early 7-0 lead en route to defeating Rutgers, 16-8. Josh Coffman chipped in with a team-high five points (four goals, one assist). The Orangemen led 5-0 after the first quarter. Caione scored two goals, while Tim Byrnes, Coffman and Liam Banks also tallied goals. Caione notched the first goal of the second quarter at the 12:42 mark and then Pat Kennedy made it 7-0 when he took a Ryan Powell pass and scored at the 9:57 mark. Rutgers got its first goal from Keith Cromwell at the 6:37 mark of the second quarter. He then had a hand in the Scarlet Knight’s next three goals with a goal and two assists. The Orangemen held a 9-2 lead at halftime after Coffman punched in a quick feed from Powell. Coffman and Banks upped the score to 11-2 only four minutes into the third quarter. Rutgers went on a mini-run, scoring the next three goals to close to within six goals (11-5) at the end of the period. Scott Massey had two goals in the stretch, Cromwell had two assists and Ken Springer, younger brother of SU attackman Michael Springer, tallied his 10th goal of the season with a shot at the 3:16 mark. Scoring their first collegiate goals in this game were SU midfielders Mike Smith and Brett Walther. Smith's came in the second quarter and Walther's was scored in the fourth quarter. Junior goalie Rob Mulligan played all but the final 3:53 of the game. He made 11 saves.
AGATE RESULTS: 1 2 3 4 Final RUTGERS 0 2 3 3 8 SYRACUSE 5 4 2 5 16
Goals: SU - Matt Caione 4, Josh Coffman 4, Liam Banks 2, Tim Byrnes 2, Sam Bassett, Pat Kennedy, Mike Smith, Brett Walther. Rutgers - Keith Cromwell 2, Scott Massey 2, Steve Snider 2, Seth Benjamin, Ken Springer. Assists: SU - Ryan Powell 3, Josh Coffman, Joe Russell, Michael Springer. Rutgers -Keith Cromwell 2, Jason Brown. Saves: SU, 12 (Rob Mulligan 11, Bob Rust 1); Rutgers, 15. Shots: SU 40, Rutgers 26 Ground Balls: SU 53, Rutgers 35 Faceoff: SU 18, Rutgers 9 Penalties: SU 7/6:30, Rutgers 6/5:30 Extra Man Opportunities: SU 1/5, Rutgers 1/7 Att: 1,553
DOME-INATION Syracuse owns a record of 125-11 (.919) in the Carrier Dome. The first season the Orangemen began playing under the white bubble was 1981.
Syracuse Program Approaching 700 All-Time Wins The all-time record of the Syracuse men's lacrosse program is 692-274-15 (.713). The Orangemen need to win eight more games this season for the program to reach the 700-win milestone in 2001.
Johns Hopkins is the only program in Division I that has won more than 700 games.
John Desko: 33-8 as Head Coach, 2-0 vs. Rutgers
Third-year head coach John Desko won his 30th career game at Syracuse when his Orangemen defeated Fairfield, 13-5, on March 12.
With a 33-8 record (6-1 postseason) and two trips to the national title game in two years, it is obvious that the Syracuse program is in good hands.
Last season, Desko guided SU to a 15-1 record (the best finish since 1988), an 18th-consecutive appearance in the final four and the school's first NCAA championship since 1995.
In 1999, Desko became the third head coach in Division I history to reach the NCAA title game in just his first year at the helm. He led the Orangemen to a 12-5 record and the program's 10th appearance in an NCAA championship game. It was the first time a No. 8 seed ever reached the national semifinals and finals.
His success after only two seasons has led Desko to opportunities outside of Syracuse. On June 10, 2000, he served as a coach for the north team in the annual North/South Senior All-Star game at Delaware. He is also a member of the NCAA Lacrosse Committee, a group that oversees and regulates rules, championships and other issues pertinent to the sport. Desko was selected to the committee in 1999.
Mulligan Moves to Fifth on SU's Career Saves List After Cornell
Fifth-year senior Rob Mulligan (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) played all 60 minutes of the Cornell game. He stopped 10 shots and in the process surpassed Matt Palumb
(1987-90) as the school's fifth all-time leader in career saves.
Mulligan had one of his best days in goal during SU's 15-4 victory against Brown. He played the first three quarters, stopped 10 shots and allowed just one goal.
A second-team All-American in 2000, Mulligan is the owner of a 7.55 goals against average and a .605 save percentage. He ranks eighth in the nation in goals against average and 15th in the country in save percentage.
Against Princeton on March 24, Mulligan recorded his 500th career save. He is now fifth on the school's all-time saves list with 539 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). Mulligan has 89 saves on the season.
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. 539 Rob Mulligan 1998-present
Coffman Takes Over as SU’s Leading Goal Scorer Junior midfielder/attackman Josh Coffman (Carthage, NY/Carthage) scored a career-high seven points, including four first-half goals to help SU to its sixth win of the season against Cornell. His first goal of the game, just 2:22 into the contest, marked the 100th point of his career. Coffman had a four-goal game against Brown on March 31 and during the 2000 season, he scored four goals in the Rutgers and Massachusetts games. The Orangemen are 23-6 when Coffman finds the back of the net. This season, Coffman is the second-leading scorer on the team with 31 points (20 goals, 11 assists). After his four-goal outburst against the Big Red, Coffman has taken over as the team's leading goal scorer. He notched his 50th career goal with three markers and two assists in Syracuse's 13-5 win against Fairfield on March 12. Coffman owns a string of 20 straight games with at least one point. His streak dates back to last season. He is the owner of 106 career points (63 goals, 43 assists), the most of any player on the team.
Springer Needs Four More Points to Reach Century Mark
Sophomore attackman Michael Springer (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) was held to one goal against Cornell, the fewest amount of points he has posted in a game since he was held to just one assist at Rutgers last season. Still, Springer has registered at least one point in every game he has appeared in for the Orangemen (24 games). He now needs four points to reach the 100-point milestone. He is averaging 4.00 points per game for his career.
Springer tallied a season-high four goals in the win against Virginia. He had three goals and an assist in the win against Brown. 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 third on the team in scoring this season with 28 points (18 goals, 10 assists). He is the team's second-leading goal scorer (2.25 goals per game) and ranks third in points per game (3.50).
On February 23 against Colgate, Springer notched his 50th career goal. He is averaging 2.75 goals per game for his career.
He has had 18 games in his career in which he has posted four or more points, including five this season.
Springer has 96 career points (66 goals and 30 assists).
Banks Tied for 12th in the Nation in Assists Per Game
Junior attackman Liam Banks (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) scored two goals and had an assist in the Cornell win. He has now put together six-straight games with two or more points.
Against Loyola, Banks fed an assist to Michael Springer at 8:30 of the third quarter which gave SU an 8-6 lead and marked Banks' 100th career point. He went on to tally two more assists in the game, but became the first of three Orangemen on this year's team to reach the 100-point milestone. Josh Coffman achieved the milestone on Tuesday night against Cornell and Michael Springer is four points away from reaching the century mark.
Banks tied for the team lead in scoring with one goal and three assists in the win against Princeton and matched his career high with five assists in the win against Brown.
On March 17, Banks scored twice against Johns Hopkins and in the process tallied his 50th career goal.
Banks has contributed multi-point performances in SU's last six outings. He is the team's fourth-leading scorer with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) and is second on the team in assists per game (1.875).
For his career, Banks owns 105 points (55 goals and 50 assists).
Banks had two assists in the opener against Colgate. He 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).
Powell Only Freshman to Rank Among the Nation's Top Scorers
After eight games, first-year attackman Michael Powell (Carthage, NY/Carthage) is leading the Orangemen in scoring with 40 points (17 goals, team-high 23 assists) or a 5.00 point-per-game average. This week, he crept up three spots into a tie for second in the nation in points per game and was the only freshman to crack the national rankings in that statistical category. Powell is averaging 2.875 assists per game.
He has tallied at least four points in every game this season. He matched his season-high of six points with two goals and four assists against Brown and Loyola. He had the same numbers against Virginia.
Powell turned in 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 and fired a shot into the Hopkins net. The goal put the Orangemen within one with 1:52 left on the clock.
Powell has netted two hat tricks this season, against Princeton and Cornell. The three goals stand as his career high, so far.
At times this season, Powell has served as a wingman during faceoffs. Against Virginia, he collected a team-high six ground balls. He had six GB's at Loyola, too. He is currently second on the team in ground balls (34).
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.
With his two older brothers, Casey and Ryan Powell, sharing the school record for career points, it is nearly impossible to not draw comparisons between the three. Michael Powell has scored more points than either one of his brothers did after their first eight college games. Casey Powell was the last freshman to lead a Syracuse team in scoring - that was during the 1995 championship season.
Syracuse Lacrosse Freshman Scoring 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 40 (17-23) Michael Powell 2001 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
Cercy Leading the Nation in Face-Off Winning Percentage Senior midfielder and face-off specialist Chris Cercy (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage) is winning 69.0 percent of the faceoffs he lines up to take. In SU's last three games, Cercy has won 76.8 percent of his draws (53-of-69). Against Cornell, he won the game's first nine faceoffs and finished 16-of-24. At Loyola, he won 22 of the 29 faceoffs in the contest and against Brown, he won the game's first 10 draws to finish 15-of-16 for the contest.
Cercy is ranked first in the nation in face-off winning percentage. Last season, he led the nation in individual face-off winning percentage with a .711 mark.
He scored the fourth goal of his career and second of the season against Brown. Last year in the national semifinals, Cercy recorded two goals against Johns Hopkins.
Cercy, an honorable mention All-American in 2000, has set another goal for himself this season, which is to graduate on time. In order to do this, Cercy is taking 20 credits this semester. He is majoring in finance and already made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall semester.
Bontaites Takes Charge of Ground Balls
Sophomore midfielder Matt Bontaites (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) took over as the team leader in ground balls this week after he picked up a career-high 10 GB's in the win against Cornell Tuesday night. No other Orangeman has collected more than 10 ground balls in a single game this season.
Bontaites has taken on the role of SU's primary wing man during faceoffs. His chemistry with Cercy has steadily improved throughout the season and his strength and quickness have helped him earn a team-leading 40 ground balls or 5.00 per game.
Rookie Nee Proves His Knack for Scoring, Accuracy
First-year attackman Brian Nee (Cockeysville, MD/Boys' Latin) has scored at least one goal in seven of SU's eight games this season. He notched eight goals in Syracuse's first four games, but was held without a goal in the Princeton game. Against Brown, Nee returned to form, scoring twice. He is the fourth-leading marksman on the team with 12 goals, and ranks fifth in scoring overall (no assists).
An excellent finisher, Nee has the best shooting percentage of anyone on the team (.545). He has connected on 12-of-22 shot attempts. He aided SU on the extra-man unit at the start of the season. Of his 12 goals, seven have been scored on the EMO. He had a career-high three goals against Fairfield in Florida.
Orangemen Look to Limit Man-Down Situations and Scoring Syracuse has committed nine penalties in its last two games and the opponents (Loyola and Cornell) have made the Orangemen pay by scoring goals on eight of those extra-man opportunities. The Greyhounds were 5-for-6 on the extra-man against Syracuse, while the Big Red went 3-for-3. The SU man-down defense has allowed 14 goals on 48 chances so far this season. The Orangemen are holding opponents to a percentage of .292. On the offensive end, Syracuse is connecting on nearly 40 percent of its extra-man opportunities (.396 to be exact). This week, SU ranked third in the nation in man-up offense. SU is 19-for-48 on the EMO. After its first three games, SU was 12-for-23 on the extra man. The Orangemen were 5-for-9 against UVA and 6-for-11 against Fairfield.
