Syracuse University
#4 Massachusetts
Massachusetts Beats Men's Lacrosse for First Time Since 1981
4/26/2003 4:21:07 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Junior attackman Jeff Zywicki, Massachusetts' leading scorer, tallied his first goal of the game with 1:10 left in overtime to lift the No. 4-ranked Minutemen to a 14-13 victory against No. 7 Syracuse at Garber Field. Â It was the first win for Massachusetts against the Orangemen since 1981. Â Ironically, that was the last time the SU men's lacrosse team lost three-straight games. Â The defending national champion Orangemen have lost their last three games (by a combined four goals) and are now 7-5 on the season.
The last time Syracuse lost five games in a season was 1999.
UMass came out and scored the game's first two goals. Â The Minutemen would go up by three (4-1) in the first quarter before SU, led by senior attackman Liam Banks tied the game at 4-4 at 10:36 of the second period.
 Banks had three goals in the first half.  His third goal pulled the Orangemen to within a goal (7-6) with 2:54 left in the opening half.  Chris Doyle, who had a career-high three goals in the first half for Massachusetts, had his hat trick by the 1:01 mark of the second quarter.  The Minutemen led, 8-6, at halftime.
Sean Morris and Ryan Connolly connected to give UMass a 9-6 lead at the 10:10 mark of the third quarter. Â Senior attackman Michael Springer registered three of SU's next four goals to give the Orangemen their first lead of the day (10-9) with 55 seconds remaining in the third stanza. Â Junior attackman Michael Powell tied the game at 9-9 with a nifty shot in traffic at the 3:27 mark.
SU senior face-off specialist Chris Bickel had a splendid day at the X (24 of 30 overall), but Dane Collins seemed to figure him out at the start of the fourth quarter, winning the first three draws of the period. Â UMass made the most of the offensive opportunities by scoring three-straight goals, two by Chris Fiore, to once again take a two-goal lead (12-10) at the 10:12 mark. Â
SU freshman midfielder Brian Crockett tied the game at 12-12 with back-to-back goals, a shot from up top at 7:27 and a drive from the right side with 6:49 left in regulation. Â Gene Tundo's score 3:13 later put the pressure on Syracuse. Â With time ticking away and Fiore with the ball, SU junior defenseman Dan DiPietro checked the ball free and gained possession for SU. Â Fiore committed a slashing penalty trying to get the ball back and with 1:04 remaining in the game, Syracuse had an extra-man opportunity.
Freshman Greg Rommel took a pass from Liam Banks and shot it wide from the ground. Â SU took another timeout and Desko drew up another play. Â With 5.5 seconds in regulation, Powell found junior midfielder Sean Lindsay for the game-tying goal.
Sophomore goaltender Jay Pfeifer finished with 14 saves for Syracuse, while Bill Schell recorded 16 saves for UMass, including two point-blank saves on shots by Springer in the fourth quarter. Â
The Minutemen improve to 12-1.
Syracuse can ensure itself a spot in the 2003 NCAA Tournament with a win at Georgetown next Saturday, May 3. Â Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Â It will be televised LIVE by Time Warner - Channel 13 in Syracuse.
Massachusetts 14, Syracuse 13
UMass 4-4-1-4-1=14
Syracuse 2-4-4-3=13
Syracuse Goals: Â Springer 4, Banks 3, Lindsay 2, Crockett 2, Powell 1, Nee 1.
Syracuse Assists: Â Powell 3.
Massachusetts Goals: Â Leveille 3, Doyle 3, Fiore 3, Tundo 2, Lundberg 1, Connolly 1, Zywicki 1.
Massachusetts Assists: Â Glenz 3, Leveille 1, Zywicki 1, Morris 1, Tundo 1.
Shots: Â Syracuse 45, Massachusetts 38
Saves: Â Syracuse 14 (Jay Pfeifer), Massachusetts 16 (Bill Schell)
Faceoffs: Â Syracuse 24-30, Massachusetts 6-30
Groundballs: Â Syracuse 37, Massachusetts 32
Clears: Â Syracuse 14-17, Massachusetts 18-25
Extra-Man: Â Syracuse 1-3, Massachusetts 2-3
Penalties: Â Syracuse 3/2:00, Massachusetts 4/3:00
Attendance: Â 2,362
