Syracuse University
#2 Johns Hopkins
Men's Lacrosse Overcomes Six-Goal Deficit to Defeat No. 2 Johns Hopkins, 15-14
3/15/2003 5:32:12 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Junior attackman Michael Powell (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) equaled his career-high with eight points (four goals, four assists) to lead No. 4 Syracuse to a 15-14 come-from-behind men's lacrosse victory against No. 2 Johns Hopkins at the Carrier Dome. It was the fifth-straight game between Johns Hopkins and Syracuse at the Dome that was decided by one goal.
"This was a tale of two halves," said Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala. "I give Syracuse credit. I thought their guys did a tremendous job both at the X and on the wings. Coming into the game we said for us there were three or four very big keys to the game, one was groundballs. I don't think we won that war."
Johns Hopkins (3-1) dominated play for most of the first half and built an 8-2 lead with 1:56 left to play in the opening 30 minutes. Seven different Blue Jays scored during the spurt.
The Orangemen's fate was reversed when they scored three consecutive goals in a span of 19 seconds before halftime to gain momentum. Powell had a hand in all three goals. He found junior midfielder Sean Lindsay (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Lakeland-Panas) with 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Ten seconds later, he caught a pass from senior attackman Michael Springer (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) and safely deposited the ball into the Hopkins net. He further ignited the crowd of 8,024 when he swept the ball past JHU goalie Rob Scherr with just two seconds on the clock. Hopkins' lead was cut to 8-5 by intermission.
Syracuse (3-1) kept its run going in the third quarter, scoring five-straight goals to open the period en route to a 10-8 lead at the 2:54 mark. Junior attackman Brian Nee (Cockeysville, Md./Boys' Latin) scored three times during the turn-around and Powell had a goal and two assists.
Hopkins finally found the back of the net again with 1:42 remaining in the third quarter. Adam Doneger found Kyle Barrie to pull the Blue Jays to within one (10-9) by the start of the fourth period.
SU was able to give itself a little breathing room when freshman midfielder Greg Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) scored just his second goal of the season to push the Orangemen's lead to 14-11 with 8:28 to play. Hopkins senior attackman Bobby Benson netted JHU's last three goals. He pulled his team to within two goals (14-12) at the 7:20 mark. Lindsay registered his third goal of the contest to put Syracuse ahead 15-12. Benson tallied the game's last two goals, both assisted by Kevin Boland, to make the final score 15-14. Benson finished with five goals and an assist. His fifth goal marked his 100th career tally. He is the 13th Johns Hopkins player to score 100 goals.
Syracuse senior face-off man Chris Bickel (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) played a critical role, winning 19 of 33 faceoffs. During SU's comeback in the second and third quarters, he won 11 of 16 draws.
"We showed some heart and had a little spark at the end of the second quarter," said Syracuse head coach John Desko. "It brought us back and made us feel better going into the lockerroom. We knew we were going to have to play a great second half and win some faceoffs and keep the ball on the offensive end of the field and keep pressure on their defense."
"We were very stagnant in the first half, a lot of standing around," said Desko. "I'm not sure if it was the emotion of the weekend (referring to SU's alumni celebration). I told the guys after the game that they didn't have to emulate the '83 team like they did to stage that comeback, but everything worked out OK for the Orangemen today."
The Orangemen play their fourth-consecutive game at home next Saturday, March 22, when they host Princeton in a rematch of last year's national-championship contest. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Syracuse 15, Johns Hopkins 14
Score by quarters:
Johns Hopkins 4-4-1-5=14
Syracuse 1-4-5-5=15
Syracuse Goals: Michael Powell 4, Brian Nee 3, Sean Lindsay 3, Michael Springer 1, Brian Crockett 1, Steve Vallone 1, Alex Zink 1, Greg Rommel 1.
Syracuse Assists: Michael Powell 4, Michael Springer 3, Brian Nee 1, Chris Bickel 1, Brian Crockett 1.
Johns Hopkins Goals: Bobby Benson 5, Kyle Barrie 3, Kyle Harrison 2, Kevin Boland 1, Adam Doneger 1, Peter LeSueur 1, Greg Peyser 1.
Johns Hopkins Assists: Kevin Boland 3, Kyle Barrie 2, Peter LeSueur 2, Adam Doneger 1, Bobby Benson 1, Conor Ford 1.
Shots: Syracuse 47, Johns Hopkins 40
Saves: Syracuse 13 (Jay Pfeifer); Johns Hopkins 11 (Rob Scherr)
Groundballs: Syracuse 42, Johns Hopkins 28
Faceoffs: Syracuse 19-33, Johns Hopkins 14-33
Clears: Syracuse 17-21, Johns Hopkins 22-28
EMO: Syracuse 1-6, Johns Hopkins 5-8
Penalties: Syracuse 8/5:00, Johns Hopkins 6/4:30
Attendance: 8,024
