Top-Ranked Men's Lacrosse Plays at Home for the First Time in a Month
3/26/2002 10:04:49 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Game 7: vs. Hobart
Wed., March 27, 2002, 7:30 p.m., Carrier Dome
Syracuse, back atop the national rankings following an 11-8 victory against defending national-champion Princeton last Saturday, returns home for its first contest at the Carrier Dome since February 23. The Orangemen take on Hobart following a five-game road swing that saw them travel through the states of Virginia, Colorado, Maryland and New Jersey. SU posted a 4-1 record on the road and is 5-1 overall.
Hobart comes into tonight's contest with a 3-2 record, a 2-1 mark in the Patriot League. The Statesmen have defeated Vermont (13-3), Lafayette (13-2) and Lehigh (14-9). Their losses have come to Maryland (13-6) and Army (14-11).
Syracuse has beaten Hobart more times (61) than any other opponent. The Orangemen own a 61-24-2 mark all-time versus the Statesmen and have won the last 15 meetings. Hobart's last triumph against SU was April 19, 1986 - a 16-13 victory in Geneva. The series between these two teams began in 1916.
Kraus-Simmons Trophy on the Line
The Syracuse-Hobart rivalry is one of the oldest and fiercest in all of college lacrosse, certainly within the upstate New York region. The winner of the Syracuse-Hobart game claims the Kraus-Simmons Trophy, named in honor of legendary SU coach Roy Simmons Sr. and former Hobart coach Babe Kraus. The Orangemen have won the trophy the last 15 times in the 16-year existence of the tradition. Last season, Syracuse defeated the Statesmen, 13-5, at Boswell Field.
Orange Career Numbers vs. Hobart
Player (Goals-Assists=Points) Brian Solliday 4-1=5 Michael Springer 4-0=4 Tom Hardy 3-0=3 Spencer Wright 2-1=3 Josh Coffman 1-2=3 Brian Nee 2-0=2 Matt Bontaites 1-0=1 Pat Hogan 1-0=1 Michael Powell 0-1=1 Brett Walther 0-1=1Faceoff Wins/Total Faceoffs Chris Bickel 2/4
DOME-ination
Syracuse owns a record of 128-11 (.921) at the Carrier Dome. The Orangemen are 1-0 this season and are scheduled to play three more games at home during the 2002 campaign following Wednesday's Hobart contest.
The Orangemen went a combined 12-1 at home during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. SU posted a record of 7-1 at home last season. The first season the Orangemen began playing under the white bubble was 1981.
Powell Needs a Goal or Assist to Record His 100th Career Point
Sophomore attackman Michael Powell (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage), the Preseason Player of the Year, scored a career-high five goals and had a game-high eight points in Syracuse's 18-11 season-opening victory against No. 20-ranked Army. The eight points were a personal best for Powell and it marked the most points registered by an Orangeman since the 2000 NCAA quarterfinals when older brother, Ryan Powell, torched Georgetown with four goals and four assists.
Against Virginia, Powell scored four goals and had two assists. In Denver, he had three goals and three assists in each of SU's two games. Against Johns Hopkins, Powell was held to one assist. It was only the third time in his career (first time this season) that he was held without a goal. Last year, the only games he did not score a goal were against Notre Dame in the NCAA semifinals and at Hobart. The second-year attackman bounced back at Princeton with a goal and an assist.
In 22 career games, Powell has registered at least five points, 11 times. He had three games last season in which he posted six points (vs. Loyola, Brown and Virginia).
Presently, Powell leads the team in scoring with 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists), or a 4.83 point-per-game average.
He is one point away from reaching the century mark in career points. He is the owner of 99 career points (46 goals, 53 assists). Powell has never been shut out of a game. He has either scored a goal or had an assist in all 22 games of his career.
Desko in Fourth Season as Head Coach (45-10 Overall, 3-0 vs. Hobart)
John Desko owns the unparalleled distinction of being the only Division I men's coach to guide his team to the national championship game in each of his first three seasons. He brings this accomplishment and others into his fourth year at the helm, continuing to prove why he is one of the most successful lacrosse coaches in the game today.
Last season, Desko guided the Orangemen to a 13-3 record, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the program's 19th consecutive appearance in the national semifinals and the school's 12th appearance (third straight) in the national championship game. It was the second year in a row that SU earned the top seed.
He and his staff have achieved success by scheduling the nation's toughest competition and coming out on top in those games. Since Desko took over in 1999, Syracuse is 15-5 against top 10 teams.
Desko's record as head coach is 45-10, including an 8-2 mark in the postseason.
In 2000, Desko led the Orangemen to the NCAA title. It was the school's seventh crown and first since 1995. That year, he guided SU to a 15-1 record, the best finish since 1988, and an 18th-consecutive appearance in the final four.
The 1999 season saw Desko become 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, a 17th-consecutive trip to the NCAA Final Four 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.
This year, he will be serving his third term as 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.
Springer Needs Two Goals vs. Hobart to Notch His 100th Career Goal
Junior attackman Michael Springer (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) is SU's third-leading scorer with 14 points (10 goals, four assists). Against Princeton last Saturday, he was held without a point for just the second time in his career (the first time was against Princeton in last year's national championship game). It was only the fifth time in 37 career games that Springer had fewer than two points. He scored four goals and had one assist in the win against Denver to move into 17th place on SU's all-time goals chart. He currently owns 98 career goals and will become the 17th player in school history to reach the century mark in goals if he can manage two more. In his 37 games for the Orangemen, Springer has recorded three or more goals 21 times.
Springer averaged 2.84 goals per game in his first two seasons at SU.
Park Notches First Collegiate Goal at Princeton, Records Game-Winner
Freshman midfielder Jarett Park (Tully, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) tallied his first collegiate goal at Princeton last Saturday and it was a big one. With the score tied at 8-8 with 8:18 remaining in the game, Park came hard and fast off the wing to scoop up a groundball pushed out for him by face-off specialist Chris Bickel (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga). Park retrieved one of his four groundballs on the day and sprinted to the cage where he fired a shot past Tiger goalie Julian Gould. The goal, Park's first of the season, turned out to be the game-winner. SU took a 9-8 lead and scored two more times before the contest ended.
Park has found a niche on this team as part of the face-off unit. He leads the team with 27 groundballs (4.5 per game) and last week ran with SU's third middie line (along with Mike Smith and Kyle Olson).
Coffman Breaks Into School's Top 25 All-Time Scoring List
Out in Denver, senior attackman Josh Coffman (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) totalled seven goals and one assist in two games. With the offensive explosion, he cracked the school's top 25 for all-time scoring. Coffman is currently 21st with 150 career points (95 goals, 55 assists). His 95 goals place him 18th on the all-time goals ledger at SU. He registered four goals in the win against Denver, tying his career high. Coffman also tallied four goals in the win at Virginia.
Last week at Princeton, Coffman helped Syracuse come back from a 4-0 deficit in the first half by tallying two goals and an assist which sparked the SU offense and helped the Orangemen tie it up 4-4 by halftime. Coffman finished the game with three goals and an assist.
Out of 55 career games, Coffman has recorded at least four points 19 times. During his first three seasons at SU, he played primarily at midfield. At that position on the field, Coffman was considered one of the best in the nation, as evidenced by his first-team All-America accolades last season and his preseason All-America nods at midfield this year.
Syracuse is 34-8 when Coffman scores a goal. He has 16 hat tricks to his credit during his time at SU.
Bickel Wins 14-of-22 Faceoffs at Princeton
Junior midfielder Chris Bickel (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) is SU's main face-off specialist so far this season. He has won 70-of-128 faceoffs, good for a .547 mark after just six games. At Princeton, he equalled his career high with 14 face-off wins (out of 22 total draws). He was impressive in the fourth quarter, winning the final five-straight draws to help SU gain possession.
Assisting Bickel from the wings has been a number of different players. Freshman midfielder Jarett Park (Tully, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) has had the most success. Because of his strength and quickness, Park is usually the first to the groundballs for Syracuse. He leads the team with 27 ground balls so far. A two-sport athlete at Syracuse, Park also plays soccer for the Orangemen. He was the 2001 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in soccer and was voted the National Freshman of the Year by Soccer America Magazine. He led the team, the BIG EAST and the nation in assists (14).
Another freshman, midfielder Jake Plunket (Cortland, N.Y./Homer), has also taken some faceoffs for Syracuse this season. He demonstrates huge potential and has won 16-of-32 draws so far.
Also used on the wings has been junior Matt Bontaites (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead), freshman long-stick midfielder Joe Sabasteanski (Darien, Conn./Darien, senior midfielder John Burns (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and at times, sophomore attackman Michael Powell (Carthage, N.Y.).
