Springer and Co. Take on the Other Springer and His 10th-Ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights
4/11/2003 10:27:14 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Game Ten: vs. #10 Rutgers (8-2, 2-0 ECAC)
Sat., April 12, 2:30 p.m. - Carrier Dome - 49,550
The Orangemen are the fourth-ranked team in the country and host No. 10-ranked Rutgers in their final regular-season home game. SU has rattled off four-straight wins, including a 13-8 victory against Cornell Tuesday night. Rutgers is the fourth top-10 opponent on the SU schedule this year. Syracuse has won seven games and lost two one-goal contests to Virginia and Princeton. The Orangemen are 1-2 against teams ranked in the top 10 this year. Rutgers is having a tremendous turn-around season under the tutelage of second-year head coach Jim Stagnitta, a Syracuse native. After finishing 2-12 a year ago, the Scarlet Knights are 8-2 overall and 2-0 in their conference, the ECAC. They are ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 1990. RU impressed early, winning its first seven games, including a 10-9 overtime decision versus Towson in its first game of the year. Other eye-catching wins came against Navy (13-8) and UMBC (12-11 in OT). The only blemishes on the Rutgers record are a 10-8 loss to Princeton on March 25, and a 9-8 setback to Army last weekend. This will mark the 39th meeting between Syracuse and Rutgers in men's lacrosse. The Orangemen own a 32-6 all-time record against the Scarlet Knights and have won the last four meetings. Rutgers last won in 1998, by a score of 12-10 at Yurcak Field.
On the Air
Radio
SU's games will be broadcast on the school's flagship radio station for lacrosse, ESPN Radio 1260 AM. Kyle Fetterly and Matt Park call the action. The games can be heard through the internet at www.suathletics.com.
WAER FM 88 also broadcasts all the games, led by sports director Anish Shroff.
Television
All SU home games are shown on a tape-delayed basis on Time Warner 13 in the Syracuse area. Dale Drypolcher is the color analyst, while Doug Wright handles play-by-play duties. The SU-Rutgers game will air Sunday, April 13, at 4 p.m., while the Orangemen's game at Georgetown will be shown LIVE at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.
CSTV (College Sports Television) is producing SU's game at Hofstra LIVE. Fans with DirectTV can catch it. Joe Beninati and Quint Kessenich will serve as commentators.
Hail to the Champions!
With the Orangemen basketball team winning their first NCAA championship Monday night in New Orleans, Syracuse is one of two Division I schools to win national championships in football (1959), men's basketball (2003) and men's lacrosse (1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2002). The University of Maryland is the only other institution with national championships in those three sports.
Orangemen Lead the Nation in Scoring Offense, Springer Fifth in the Country in PPG
Springer vs. Springer
SU attackman Michael Springer will face his brother's team for the fourth time in his career. Ken Springer, a senior midfielder for Rutgers, is a year younger than Mike. The two grew up playing at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey where they were both all-state and all-league performers. Ken was the third-leading scorer for the Scarlet Knights last season with 19 points (16 goals, three assists). He is fifth on the team so far this season with 14 points (11 goals, three assists).
Syracuse has won the first three meetings between the two brothers' teams by a combined score of 42-20.
There are two other Springer brothers who are younger than Michael and Ken. Their parents are Kenneth and Mary.
Syracuse vs. The ECAC
The Orangemen play against three teams from the ECAC Conference in 2003, starting today with Rutgers. The Orangemen have won their last 11 outings against opponents from the ECAC. The last loss against an ECAC foe was May 8, 1999, when Georgetown posted a 17-13 victory.
Pfeifer Stops Season-High 16 Shots Against Cornell, Starting to Heat Up
Sophomore goaltender Jay Pfeifer recorded a season-high 16 saves in the win against Cornell on Tuesday. He and the rest of the SU defense held the Big Red to eight goals. In the Orangemen's last two outings, Pfeifer has sported a 6.12 goals against average. Against Loyola, Pfeifer boasted a .800 save percentage. He played 38 minutes, recorded eight saves and allowed just two goals.
Pfeifer has started every game in goal for Syracuse this season. He has been the Orangemen's starting goalie the past 26 outings, as he started in all 17 games a year ago.
So far this season, Pfeifer has saved 96 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, 13 saves against Johns Hopkins, and 10 against Princeton and Hobart.
The 16 goals given up by Pfeifer in the loss to Virginia marked the most goals he has given up in his career.
This season, Pfeifer has faced 299 shots. He owns a .545 save percentage and a 9.81 goals against average.
Pfeifer reached a milestone in the Virginia game when he recorded his 200th career save. He now owns 271 career stops.
Syracuse is 22-4 with Pfeifer starting in goal.
Lindsay Still Leading the Team in Goals, Posts Career-High Six Points vs. Cornell
Junior starting midfielder Sean Lindsay missed the Hobart game because of a head injury. He is recovered, and has since responded with back-to-back-to-back hat tricks. Actually, Lindsay poured in four goals and a career-high six points against Cornell. He is tied with Michael Powell for the team lead in goals. He has 21 goals in eight games (2.63 goals per game). He has already surpassed his 2002 goal total. He had nine goals in 17 games last year. Coming into this season, Lindsay had 11 career goals.
Overall, Lindsay is third on the team in scoring with 24 points. He exploded for a career-high four goals in the season opener against Army. He tallied twice against Virginia, once against Fairfield, three times against Johns Hopkins, and once against Princeton.
Lindsay has scored a goal in his last 10 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 32 goals, nine assists and 41 points.
