Men's Lacrosse Faces Johns Hopkins on May 24 in NCAA Semifinal at 11:36 a.m. in Baltimore
5/22/2003 1:05:57 PM | Men's Lacrosse
NCAA Semifinal vs. Johns Hopkins (13-1) - ESPN2
Sat., May 24, 11:36 a.m. - M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
Listen to the Game
Syracuse (10-5) will face No. 1-ranked Johns Hopkins in its 21st consecutive NCAA Division I semifinal game on Saturday, May 24, at 11:30 a.m. The Orangemen, winners of their last three outings, advanced to championship weekend with playoff wins against two Ivy League teams. SU defeated Dartmouth in the first round, 13-11, and knocked off Princeton, 15-5, in the quarterfinals. Both games were played at the Carrier Dome, where Syracuse now owns a 138-14 record all-time. The Orangemen were the only team to beat Johns Hopkins during the regular season. SU posted a 15-14 victory against the Blue Jays at home on March 15. Since then, Hopkins has rattled off 10 consecutive wins, including one-goal victories against the other two final four participants, Virginia (8-7) and Maryland (6-5 OT). This will be the 38th meeting between Syracuse and Johns Hopkins in men's lacrosse. It is the ninth pairing between the two schools in NCAA Tournament play, but the first since the 2000 semifinals. SU holds a 5-3 edge against the Blue Jays in the NCAA playoffs, while JHU leads the all-time series, 21-15-1. The last three meetings have been decided by a single goal. Prior to the Orangemen?s 15-14 win this season, the Blue Jays won regular-season meetings in 2001 (11-10) and 2002 (9-8). This is the fourth matchup between SU and Johns Hopkins in the national semifinals. The Orangemen own a 2-1 record, including a 14-12 victory in the 2000 semis at Byrd Stadium.
On the Air
Radio
SU's games are broadcast on the school's flagship radio station for lacrosse, ESPN Radio 1260 AM. Kyle Fetterly, Matt Park and Charlie Lockwood will call the championship action from Baltimore. The games can also be heard through www.suathletics.com.
WAER FM 88 broadcasts all SU games, led by sports director Anish Shroff.
Television
ESPN is producing the NCAA championship games. Leif Elsmo, Quint Kessenich and Joe Benninati will serve as talent. ESPN Syndication produced the NCAA quarterfinal games last weekend. All SU home games were shown on a tape-delayed basis on Time Warner 13 in the Syracuse area. Time Warner broadcasted the Orangemen's game at Georgetown LIVE on May 3. CSTV (College Sports Television) produced SU's game at Hofstra LIVE. WMAR-TV in Baltimore produced the SU vs. Loyola game on April 5.
Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament
Syracuse owns an all-time record of 47-15 in the NCAA Tournament to rank second in tournament winning percentage (.758). Princeton is first, having won 76.5 percent of its tournament games. The Tigers own an NCAA Tournament record of 26-8. Six of their eight losses have come to Syracuse.
SU has participated in 23 of 32 NCAA tournaments. The championship was inaugurated in 1971 and Syracuse made its first-ever appearance in 1979 (coach John Desko and assistant coach Kevin Donahue's senior year). The Orangemen returned in 1980 and 1981, but failed to qualify in 1982. Since 1983, Syracuse has participated every year. The Orangemen have advanced to championship weekend a record 21 consecutive seasons.
SU in the NCAA Semifinals
This is Syracuse's 22nd appearance in the NCAA semifinals and 21st-straight. The Orangemen are 13-8 in NCAA semifinal games. Last season, they beat Virginia, 12-11, in double overtime at Rutgers Stadium.
Syracuse has not lost in the national semifinals since an 11-10 loss to Princeton in the 1998 NCAA semis at Rutgers. The Orangemen are 4-0 in semifinal games with John Desko as head coach.
Syracuse Seeks Fifth-Straight NCAA Championship Appearance
Last season, the Orangemen became the third team in NCAA history to advance to four or more consecutive championship games. Maryland appeared in four straight championships from 1973-76 and Johns Hopkins played in nine consecutive title games from 1978-85.
A win against Johns Hopkins this year would make Syracuse just the second team in NCAA Division I history to appear in five-straight title games.
SU is one of only 10 schools that has competed in the NCAA Division I Championship game. SU has made 13 appearances, second only to Johns Hopkins' 14 trips. Maryland is third with nine, followed by Princeton (8), Cornell (6), Virginia (6), North Carolina (5), Navy (1), Towson (1), and Loyola (1).
Warm Weather Means Orangemen Heat Up
As the warm weather comes to Central New York, the Syracuse lacrosse team also tends to get hot. Since 1990, SU is 64-9 in the month of April and 13-1 in regular-season May games. The only May regular-season loss the Orangemen have suffered since 1990 was a 17-13 defeat at Georgetown on May 8, 1999. Add those numbers to SU's 31-8 NCAA record since 1990 (all in the month of May) and you will learn that Syracuse has won 108 out of 126 games in April and May since 1990, good for a winning percentage of .857.
This season, Syracuse posted an uncharacteristic 2-3 record in the month of April.
Springer Tied for Fourth in Career NCAA Tournament Goals
Senior attackman Michael Springer is tied for fourth with Princeton's Chris Massey (1995-98) in NCAA Tournament career goals with 31. Both tallied 31 goals in 11 NCAA tourney games. With three goals against Johns Hopkins in this year's semifinals, Springer could move ahead of Jon Hess into second place on the career list. Hess, who played at Princeton from 1995-98, tallied 33 goals in 11 games. SU's Gary Gait holds the NCAA all-time record with 50 goals in 11 games.
Syracuse has boasted the NCAA Tournament's leading scorer in each of the past four seasons. In 1999, Ryan Powell tied John Grant of Delaware with a tournament-leading 14 points. Ryan Powell led all scorers in 2000 with 18 points. Michael Powell took over the past two seasons with a tournament-leading 12 points in 2001 and 14 points in 2002. In SU's NCAA record book, Springer ranks second in career goals (31). Mike Powell ranks fourth among SU players in NCAA career assists (21), while Banks is tied for fifth with 18.
Desko 4-0 in NCAA Semifinal Games; 13-2 in Postseason Play
John Desko is at the helm of the Syracuse lacrosse program for his fifth season in 2003. His 65-16 (.802) record speaks for itself.
This will be Desko's seventh time going up against Johns Hopkins in the role of head coach. He is 3-3 against the Blue Jays.
Desko owns an overall record of 5-2 at championship weekend. He is 4-0 coaching in the national semifinals.
Desko has been a part of all eight championship seasons at SU. He led the Orangemen to title-game appearances in each of his first four seasons as head coach, the only Division I men's coach to do so. Syracuse is 2-2 in championship games under Desko. His teams have won 80 percent of their games during the past five years, and are 13-2 in the postseason.
Last season, Desko led the team to a 15-2 mark, a 20th consecutive appearance in the NCAA semifinals, a national crown and four-straight one-goal wins at the end of the year.
Since he accepted the head coaching reins, Syracuse has had 17 players earn All-America honors. Four of those Orangemen were singled out for player of the year accolades.
He and his staff have achieved success by scheduling the nation's toughest competition and coming out on top in those games. Since he took over in 1999, Syracuse is 24-10 against top 10 teams.
Desko's first national championship as head coach came in 2000, his second year on the job. It was the school's first title since 1995. The 2000 squad finished with a 15-1 record (the best finish since 1988), and an 18th-consecutive appearance in the final four.
A year earlier, Desko became the third head coach in Division I history to reach the NCAA title game in just his first year at the helm. It was the first time a No. 8 seed ever reached the national semifinals and finals.
This year, Desko served his fourth term as a member of the NCAA Lacrosse Committee, a group that oversees and regulates rules, championships and other issues pertinent to the sport.
Powell Already Has 11 NCAA Tournament Points This Season
All-American Michael Powell recorded seven points (four goals, three assists) in SU's 15-5 quarterfinal win against Princeton. He exacted his revenge after being held without a point for the first time in his career (37 games) the first time the two teams met on March 22, 2003.
Semifinals Has Been Springer's Time to Shine
A three-time semifinal participant, Michael Springer has had some huge semifinal performances for the Orange which have helped catapult SU into three-straight championship games. In semifinal games alone, Springer owns 16 points (13 goals, three assists). His first year (2000), he scored three goals and had one assist against Johns Hopkins, including a goal with 2:23 remaining in the fourth quarter which broke a 12-12 tie and sent the Orangemen on to a 14-12 victory. In 2001, Springer set a career-high with six goals against Notre Dame. Last season, he came up with a six-point effort (four goals, two assists) in a double-overtime decision against Virginia.
Springer comes into these semifinals "hot" once again. He has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in SU's last four games (4.25 points per game). Against Princeton last week, Springer netted four goals. He had two goals and an assist in the win against Dartmouth. He posted a career-high five assists in the win at Georgetown. He also had a goal for a team-high six points against the Hoyas. Springer scored four goals at Massachusetts, his first four-goal game since March 10, when he scored five times against Fairfield. He has 32 hat tricks for his career and six this season.
Springer leads the team with 35 goals. He is second on the team in scoring with 59 points. In the May 18th national statistics, he is fifth in the nation in points per game (3.93).
Springer is currently riding a 26-game point-scoring streak, having totaled 93 points (60 goals, 33 assists), dating back to March 23, 2002, when he was held without a point at Princeton.
There have only been two games in his career (out of 63 games) when Springer has been shut out of the scoring column. He registered at least one point in his first 30 games, 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 48-10 when Springer scores a goal. The Orangemen are 27-5 when he tallies three goals or more in a game.
Springer is a four-year starter at attack and a three-time All-American.
