2001 Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Season in Review
6/27/2001 10:32:22 AM | Basketball
Syracuse (13-3) was part of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship weekend for the 19th consecutive season. Although Memorial Day 2001 was not celebrated by winning a title, it marked another year to marvel at this special program and the people involved with it that keep adding to its legacy.
This year's playoff run began in the quarterfinals against a never-say-die Hofstra team. Syracuse earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, thanks in part to its 11-2 regular-season record against a schedule laden with nine nationally-ranked opponents. The highlight of the regular season was a 14-8 victory against Princeton, the top-ranked team in the land at the time the two teams met on March 24.
The Orangemen fought back from two four-goal deficits to beat Hofstra, 18-13, in the quarterfinals. They advanced to their 19th-straight final four where they met Notre Dame for the first time in an official capacity. SU showed its experience by defeating the Irish handily, 12-5, and marched on to the national championship game for the third consecutive season.
In the title game, Princeton jumped all over the Orangemen, outscoring them, 3-0, in the first quarter and building leads of 4-0 and 8-4 before SU staged a valiant fourth-quarter comeback that tied the contest at 9-9 with 16 seconds remaining. The championship was decided in overtime by Princeton's B.J. Prager, who netted the game-winning goal with 41 seconds remaining in the extra session.
On The Air
Radio
The school's flagship radio station for lacrosse this year was WFBL 1050 AM. Carter Blackburn was the play-by-play announcer, while Syracuse equipment manager Kyle Fetterly offered a unique perspective as the color analyst. The broadcasts were heard and archived on www.suathletics.com.
SU's student station, WAER-FM 88, also carried the action throughout the season.
Television
Seven of SU's eight home games were televised on a tape delayed basis by Time Warner 13 in Syracuse.
The Johns Hopkins and Georgetown games reached more than 20.3 million homes. Both games were shown tape delay on MSG, Empire Sports Network (Buffalo), ComCast Sport Net (Philadelphia), Home Team Sports (Baltimore/Washington D.C.) and ComCast Charter (Southeast U.S.).
Syracuse made its seventh live appearance on ESPN, playing in the NCAA semifinals (espn2) and the NCAA finals (ESPN).
Syracuse in the NCAA Championship
This was Syracuse's 22nd appearance (19th consecutive) in the NCAA Championship. The Orangemen have now participated in 22 of 31 NCAA tournaments. The championship was inaugurated in 1971 and Syracuse made its first-ever appearance in 1979 (Coach John Desko and Assistant Coach Kevin Donahue's senior year). The Orangemen returned in 1980 and 1981, but failed to qualify in 1982. Since 1983, Syracuse has participated every year.
Syracuse and the No. 1 Seed
This was the seventh time and second-straight year that Syracuse earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The previous seasons SU was seeded No. 1 were: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994 and 2000. Syracuse went on to win the national championship as the No. 1 seed four times (1988, 1989, 1990 and 2000).
The Syracuse-Princeton Rivalry
Syracuse or Princeton has won 12 of the last 14 national championships. The Orangemen made their 12th appearance in the NCAA finals this year, while the Tigers made their seventh trip since 1992. Princeton has won six titles. Syracuse has won seven.
This year's national championship game was a rematch of the 2000 finals which the Orangemen won, 13-7, at Byrd Stadium in College Park, MD. It was the 15th all-time meeting between SU and PU and third in the NCAA finals. The Orangemen own a 9-6 advantage in the all-time series with Princeton. They defeated the Tigers, 14-8, at the Carrier Dome during the regular season. Princeton owns a 2-1 record against the Orangemen in championship contests, winning in 1992 and 2001.
Syracuse and Princeton are two of just 10 schools to have competed in the NCAA Division I Championship game. The Orangemen participated in the finals this year for the 12th time. Only Johns Hopkins owns more appearances (14). Here are the other schools that have contended and the number of times they reached the finals: Maryland (9), Princeton (7), Cornell (6), Virginia (6), North Carolina (5), Navy (1), Towson (1), Loyola (1).
SU in the NCAA Semifinals
This was Syracuse's 20th appearance in the NCAA semifinals and 19th straight. The Orangemen improved to 12-8 in NCAA semifinal games. Their 12-5 victory against Notre Dame equalled the fewest goals ever allowed in an NCAA semifinal game and represented the fewest allowed since 1983 when Syracuse defeated Maryland, 12-5.
The only other program in NCAA Division I college athletics that can boast a streak of 19-consecutive semifinal appearances is the University of North Carolina women's soccer team.
More notes on the men's lacrosse season
