Roy Simmons Jr. to Help Broadcast Men's Lacrosse Games From Denver
3/6/2002 7:04:20 PM | Men's Lacrosse
The top-ranked Orangemen will spend part of their spring break in Denver, Colorado for a pair of games against the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Denver on March 9-10, 2002 at Denver's Pioneer Field.
Syracuse (2-0) plays Air Force first on Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m. EST. It will be only the second meeting between the Orangemen and the Falcons, who first played on April 17, 1986 at the Carrier Dome. The Orangemen defeated Air Force, 22-6, in front of 1,911 spectators. In that game, SU led 12-0 at halftime and scored 10 goals in the third quarter. Senior Tom Korrie was the game's high scorer with six goals and three assists, while junior Todd Curry added four goals and two assists. Tom Nelson chipped in with three goals and three assists and Gordie Mapes had two goals and four assists.
On Sunday, March 10, the Orangemen will play the University of Denver in the first-ever meeting between the two schools in men's lacrosse. The last time Syracuse played back-to-back games was during the 2000 national-championship season when they played Pennsylvania and Princeton at Princeton during Easter weekend. Syracuse won both of those games, 9-4 against Pennsylvania, and 16-4 over Princeton.
Orangemen in the Midst of a Five-Game Road Swing
The Orangemen are playing in the midst of a five-game road swing. The tough road began last weekend at Virginia in Charlottesville and continues this weekend through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in Denver for back-to-back matches against Air Force and Denver. On March 16, SU will travel to historic Homewood Field in Baltimore to play No. 2-ranked Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays were the only team to defeat the Orangemen in the Carrier Dome last season. On March 23, SU heads to Princeton, N.J. for its long-awaited rematch of the 2001 national championship game against the Tigers at Class of 1952 Stadium. During the past five seasons, Syracuse owns a 33-11 record away from home. The Orangemen have won 16 of 19 road games in the new millennium.
Roy Simmons Jr. to Help Broadcast the Games from Denver
Retired Syracuse head men's lacrosse coach Roy Simmons Jr. will serve as the color commentator for ESPN Radio's broadcasts of the SU vs. Air Force and the SU vs. Denver games on 1260 AM this weekend. He is filling in for Kyle Fetterly who will miss the Denver trip. Fetterly will return to the airwaves for Syracuse's game at Johns Hopkins on March 16. Roy Simmons Jr. coached the Orangemen from 1971-1998 (28 years). He compiled a record of 290-96 (.751) and guided his teams to 16 consecutive final fours and six national championships (1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995).
Trip to Denver Will be the Furthest West SU Men's Lax Has Ever Traveled
The trip to Denver, Colorado will be the furthest west the Syracuse men's lacrosse team has ever traveled to play a game. This fall, the Orangemen traveled to St. Louis, Mo. to play Notre Dame in an exhibition game. Prior to this season, the furthest west the Orangemen had ventured was to East Lansing, Michigan to play Michigan State in 1993. SU won the game against the Spartans, 27-7. The Orangemen defeated Notre Dame in St. Louis, 9-2.
