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. It was the first win for Massachusetts against the Orangemen since 1981. Ironically, that was the last time the SU men's lacrosse team lost three-straight games. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. Gene Tundo's score 3:13 later put the pressure on Syracuse. With time ticking away and Fiore with the ball, SU junior defenseman Dan DiPietro checked the ball free and gained possession for SU. 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. SU took another timeout and Desko drew up another play. 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.
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. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. 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: Springer 4, Banks 3, Lindsay 2, Crockett 2, Powell 1, Nee 1.
Syracuse Assists: Powell 3.
Massachusetts Goals: Leveille 3, Doyle 3, Fiore 3, Tundo 2, Lundberg 1, Connolly 1, Zywicki 1.
Massachusetts Assists: Glenz 3, Leveille 1, Zywicki 1, Morris 1, Tundo 1.
Shots: Syracuse 45, Massachusetts 38
Saves: Syracuse 14 (Jay Pfeifer), Massachusetts 16 (Bill Schell)
Faceoffs: Syracuse 24-30, Massachusetts 6-30
Groundballs: Syracuse 37, Massachusetts 32
Clears: Syracuse 14-17, Massachusetts 18-25
Extra-Man: Syracuse 1-3, Massachusetts 2-3
Penalties: Syracuse 3/2:00, Massachusetts 4/3:00
Attendance: 2,362
