More Than 100 Alumni Back for Men's Lacrosse Game on March 15th
3/14/2003 12:54:55 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Game Four: vs. No. 2 Johns Hopkins (3-0)
Sat., March 15, 1:00 p.m. - Carrier Dome - Turf - 49,550
The No. 4-ranked Syracuse men's lacrosse team, fresh off a 19-6 victory against Fairfield Monday night, plays host to No. 2-ranked Johns Hopkins. It is the third consecutive home game for the Orangemen, who are in the midst of a four-game home stand, and are 2-1 on the season.
Johns Hopkins comes to the Carrier Dome with a 3-0 record after posting wins against Princeton (10-8), Albany (16-7) and Pennsylvania (14-5). The Blue Jays are only giving up an average of 7.27 goals per game this season. The Hopkins defense should prove to be a formidable opponent for the SU offense, which is averaging 16.33 goals per game.
JHU leads the all-time series with Syracuse, 21-14-1. The Blue Jays have beaten the Orangemen the past two seasons. Last year, at Homewood Field, they rallied back in the fourth quarter to pull out a 9-8 victory. In 2001, they posted an 11-10 win at the Carrier Dome, behind midfielder Eric Wedin's five goals and one assist. SU's last victory against Hopkins was a 14-12 decision in the 2000 NCAA Semifinals at Byrd Stadium.
More Than 100 SU Lacrosse Alumni Back in Town for Reunion Celebration
More than 100 Syracuse lacrosse alumni will be in attendance for a reunion celebration that will pay tribute to the 20-year anniversary of the 1983 Orangemen, the first SU squad to win an NCAA championship. The 1983 team will be recognized at 12:47 p.m., before the start of the Syracuse vs. Johns Hopkins game, which is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. At halftime, all of the former SU players in attendance will be recognized on the field. Among the highlights of the day will be an alumni game at 10:00 a.m., the unveiling of the 2002 national championship banner that will soon hang in the Carrier Dome, and an autograph session for fans following the game.
Tewaaraton Candidate Springer Off to Strong Start
Senior attackman Michael Springer is off to a quick scoring start this season. He leads the team in goals (11), assists (eight) and points (19). He had seven points (five goals, two assists) in SU's last outing against Farifield. He has 10 goals in the Orangemen's last two games, as he also registered five goals against Virginia on March 1.
Springer has been extremely accurate with his shot this year. He is leading the team with a .550 shooting percentage (11 goals on 20 shots).
He is currently riding a 14-game point-scoring streak, having totaled 53 points (36 goals, 17 assists), dating back to March 23, 2002, when he was held without a point at Princeton. Springer has registered at least one goal in the Orangemen's last eight games. The last time he failed to find the back of the net was April 19, 2002, in a victory at Pennsylvania.
There have only been two games in his career (out of 51 games) when Springer has been shut out of the scoring column. He registered at least one point in his first 30 games as an Orangeman, up until the 2001 national championship game against Princeton. In 2002, Princeton held him pointless during its regular-season matchup against the Orangemen.
Syracuse is 41-6 when Springer scores a goal. The Orangemen are 25-3 when he tallies three goals or more in a game.
He has recorded 28 hat tricks during his career. He is seventh in all-time goals at Syracuse with 134, four away from moving ahead of Ryan Powell (137 career goals) into sixth place. Springer is 16th on the school's all-time scoring list with 188 career points (134 goals, 54 assists). He is a four-year starter at attack and a three-time All-American.
Crockett Emerges as Team's Third-Leading Scorer
Syracuse has a potent "wild card" player this year in freshman Brian Crockett. He has emerged as a scoring threat from both the midfield and attack positions, despite not starting in a single game. The SU coaches say he is a player who MUST be on the field.
Crockett's presence has been felt early. He is the team's third-leading scorer behind Springer and Powell with nine points (seven goals, two assists). He scored three goals and had one assist in wins against Army and Fairfield. He tallied a goal late in the game against Virginia, which pulled the Orangemen within a goal (15-14), and set up Springer's game-tying marker. Crockett is dangerous because he is a skilled dodger and he can feed.
Nee Runs Point-Scoring Streak to 14 Games
Junior starting attackman Brian Nee has scored at least one point in Syracuse's last 14 games. The last time he was shut out of the point column was March 23, 2002, at Princeton. Since that game, Nee has contributed 29 points (21 goals).
For his career, Nee owns 43 goals, 11 assists and 54 points. He has one of the better career shooting percentages on the team at 43.0 percent (43 goals on 100 career shots).
Pfeifer Records 200th Career Save Against Virginia
Sophomore goaltender Jay Pfeifer has started Syracuse's first three games of the season. He has been the Orangemen's starting goalie the past 20 outings, as he started in all 17 games a year ago.
So far this season, Pfeifer has saved 30 shots. He recorded 14 saves in each of the first two games against Army and Virginia. He only allowed seven goals at Army. He had two saves against Fairfield.
The 16 goals given up by Pfeifer in the loss to Virginia marked the most goals he allowed since April 9, 2002, when Cornell scored 15 times.
So far this season, Pfeifer has faced 94 shots. He owns a .536 save percentage and a 9.88 goals against average.
Pfeifer reached a milestone in the Virginia game when he recorded his 200th career save. He now owns 205 career stops.
10,536 Attended the Virginia Game...SU 133-12 All-Time at the Dome
The setback to Virginia on March 1, was Syracuse's first loss at home since March 17, 2001, when Johns Hopkins posted an 11-10 victory against the Orangemen.
SU finished a perfect 5-0 at home last season. The Orangemen are 18-2 playing at home since the 2000 season began.
Overall, the team owns a record of 133-12 (.917) at the Carrier Dome. The first season the Orangemen began playing under the white bubble was 1981.
Syracuse had 10,536 fans in attendance at its March 1st game against Virginia, the largest crowd for lacrosse since 10,924 showed up for the 2001 national-championship rematch against Princeton.
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
10,924 vs. Princeton, 2001
10,536 vs. Virginia, 2003
10,496 vs. Virginia, 2001
10,381 vs. North Carolina, 1994
Lindsay Leads Orangemen with Three Man-Up Goals
Junior starting midfielder Sean Lindsay is tied as SU's second-leading goal scorer so far this season with Brian Crockett. Both players have seven goals through three games. Overall, Lindsay is tied for fourth on the team in scoring with seven points. He leads the team with three man-up goals.
Lindsay finished the 2002 season with a total of nine goals in 17 games. Coming into this year, Lindsay had 11 career goals. He is on his way to passing those totals.
Lindsay exploded for a career-high four goals in the season opener against Army. He tallied twice against Virginia and once against Fairfield.
He has scored a goal in Syracuse's last five games, dating back to last year's final four. During championship weekend, Lindsay netted goals against Virginia in the semifinals and Princeton in the championship.
His career totals are 18 goals, six assists and 24 points.
First Middie Member Vallone Scores Career-High Four Points vs. Fairfield
Junior starting midfielder Steve Vallone dished out his first two career assists on his way to a personal-high four points earlier in the week against Fairfield. He also tallied two goals for the fourth time in his career. Last season, Vallone notched two goals against Army, Cornell and Massachusetts.
As a member of SU's top midfield line and the man-up unit, Vallone is the team's sixth-leading scorer with six points (four goals, two assists). He has recorded two extra-man goals.
Vallone registered two goals in the season-opening win at Army. He was held without a point in the Virginia game.
His career totals are 17 goals, two assists and 19 points.
Defense Yielding Fewer Goals Than a Year Ago
The Syracuse defense has allowed 29 goals in its first three games of the season, three fewer than a year ago. In 2002, the Orangemen had already given up 32 goals after playing Army, Virginia and Air Force.
The Last Time Two Orangemen Scored Five Goals in a Game
The last time two Orangemen scored five goals in a game the way Michael Springer and Michael Powell did against Fairfield, was May 6, 2000. Ryan Powell and Liam Banks each scored five goals en route to a 24-16 victory against the Hoyas.
In the last 10 years, this has happened only two other times. On Feb. 28, 1997, Casey Powell scored seven goals and Rob Kavovit scored six goals as SU defeated Virginia, 22-21. On April 6, 1994, Roy Colsey tallied six times and Jim Morrissey scored five times as SU beat Hobart, 28-14.
Powell and Springer Equal Career-Highs Against Fairfield
Michael Powell equaled his career-high for goals on Monday night with the five he scored against Fairfield. He also tallied five goals in last year's victory against Army.
For the second consecutive outing, Michael Springer equaled his personal-best point total (seven). He has posted back-to-back five-goal, two-assist games against Virginia and Fairfield.
Sabasteanski Registers First Collegiate Assist
Sophomore long-stick midfielder Joe Sabasteanski registered his first career assist against Fairfield. It was the first point of his college career. He assisted Brian Crockett on SU's 18th goal of the contest.
Man-Up Unit Out on the Field 12 Times Against Fairfield
The SU man-up unit was out on the field a season-high 12 times against Fairfield Monday night. The Orangemen capitalized on their extra-man advantage four times.
So far this season, the EMO has proved to be a bright spot for the Orangemen. With attackmen Michael Powell, Michael Springer, Brian Nee, Alex Zink and midfielders Sean Lindsay and Steve Vallone, Syracuse has connected for goals 11 times on 25 attempts, or a .440 success rate. Lindsay leads the team with three man-up goals. Springer, Powell and Vallone have each scored two extra-man tallies.
In its first two games, SU enjoyed a .538 success rate, connecting seven times on its first 13 attempts.
Syracuse led the nation in man-up offense last season with a .474 success rate. The Orangemen registered 36 man-up goals on 76 attempts.
