Men's Lacrosse Begins NCAA Postseason Against Dartmouth on May 11
5/8/2003 9:41:18 PM | Men's Lacrosse
NCAA First Round vs. Dartmouth (11-2, 5-1 Ivy)
Sun., May 11, 4:00 p.m. - Carrier Dome - Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse is making its 24th appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament this year, following an 8-5 regular-season campaign and a national ranking of No. 6 in the final STX/USILA Coaches Poll (May 5). The Orangemen are in the NCAA playoffs for the 21st consecutive season. SU's opponent in the first round is Dartmouth, a team that is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The Big Green own a record of 11-2. They posted a 5-1 mark in the Ivy League, losing only to Cornell, 13-5, on April 12. Their most impressive win of the season was a 13-6 defeat of Princeton in New Jersey on April 26. The only other loss on the Dartmouth slate was to UMBC on March 19, 14-7. The Big Green recorded wins this year against Colgate, Quinnipiac, Vermont, Lehigh, Sacred Heart, Hartford, Pennsylvania, Yale, Brown, Princeton and Harvard. They come to Syracuse riding a four-game winning streak. This will be the 23rd meeting between Syracuse and Dartmouth in men's lacrosse. The Orangemen own an 18-4 advantage in the all-time series which began in 1927. The last time these two teams met was March 30, 1991 in Manhasset, N.Y., where SU posted a 23-7 victory. Prior to that, the last meeting came in 1961. The bulk of the series was played from 1946-61, with SU owning an 11-4 edge during those years. The last time Dartmouth beat Syracuse was April 29, 1959, when it won an 11-7 decision in Hanover. The Orangemen also won games against the Big Green in 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932 and 1934.
On the Air
Radio
SU's games are 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
The NCAA First Round game between Syracuse and Dartmouth will not be televised.
All SU home games were shown on a tape-delayed basis on Time Warner 13 in the Syracuse area. Dale Drypolcher served as the color analyst, while Doug Wright handled play-by-play duties. 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 45-15 in the NCAA Tournament to rank second in tournament winning percentage (.750). Princeton is first, having won 78.1 percent of its tournament games. The Tigers own an NCAA Tournament record of 25-7. Five of their seven losses have come at the hands of the Orangemen.
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 20 consecutive seasons.
Syracuse vs. The Ivy League
The Orangemen are 158-48-2 all-time against teams from the Ivy League -- good for a winning percentage of .764. The contest against Dartmouth will be SU's fourth game against an Ivy League team this season. The Orangemen are 2-1 against Ivy squads this year. Syracuse lost an 11-10 decision to Princeton on March 22, beat Brown, 16-7, on March 29, and defeated Cornell, 13-8, on April 8.
Last season, Syracuse posted a 4-1 record against teams from the Ivy League, losing a 15-11 decision at Cornell. Since 1990, Syracuse has posted a 52-9 record against teams from the Ivy League.
Cornell is the Ivy League team with the most wins against Syracuse (31). The Big Red have played the Orangemen more times than any other Ivy League school (87).
Syracuse in NCAA First Round Games
This is the first year that the NCAA Tournament field includes 16 teams.
From 1971-1985, the NCAA hosted a tournament made up of eight participants. The first round was considered the quarterfinals and winners advanced to the national semifinals. In 1986, the field expanded to allow for a 10-team field. The top five seeds earned first-round byes and played their first games in the quarterfinal round.
From 1987-2002, there were 12 teams who qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The top four seeds earned byes in the first round and played their first games in the quarterfinal round.
Syracuse is 7-2 in NCAA First Round games, including the years of 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, and 1985, when those first-round games were referred to as "quarterfinal" games by the NCAA.
Only three times during the 12-team format did Syracuse have to play a first-round game (1991, 1996, 1999). The Orangemen earned a first-round bye 14 times in 17 years of the 12-team format.
Desko 63-16 in Five Seasons; 11-2 in the Postseason
John Desko is at the helm of the Syracuse lacrosse program for his fifth season in 2003. His 63-16 (.797) record speaks for itself.
Desko has been a part of all eight championship seasons at SU. He has led the Orangemen to title-game appearances in each of his 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 more than 79 percent of their games during the past five years, and are 11-2 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 23-10 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.
Warm Weather Usually 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 29-8 NCAA record since 1990 (all in the month of May) and you will learn that Syracuse has won 106 out of 124 games in April and May since 1990, good for a winning percentage of .855.
This season, Syracuse posted an uncharacteristic 2-3 record in the month of April.
