Syracuse University
NCAA Semifinals vs. #1 Johns Hopkins (ESPN2)
Men's Lacrosse Upends Hopkins, 15-9, in National Semifinals
5/29/2004 6:53:51 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Senior midfielder Kevin Dougherty (Syracuse, N.Y.) scored a career-high five goals and freshman midfielder Danny Brennan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) won a personal-best 16 faceoffs as No. 4 Syracuse defeated top-seeded Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse semifinals in front of a record crowd of 46,923 at M&T Bank Stadium. The win sends the 14-2 Orange to the NCAA championship game for the 14th time overall and fifth time in six years. SU will face Navy in the title game at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, May 31. The game will be televised LIVE by ESPN.
A total team effort characterized the Orange win against Hopkins. SU had a lot of motivation after losing to the Blue Jays 17-5 earlier in the season and 19-8 in last year's national semifinals. The team showed off its improved defense, a hot goaltender in junior Jay Pfeifer (Towson, Md.), an emerging face-off star in Brennan and a patient and efficient offense that was led not only by Dougherty's outburst, but by senior attackman Brian Nee's (Cockeysville, Md.) four goals.
"I think some of our people really stepped up," said Syracuse head coach John Desko. "Danny Brennan just did an outstanding job on the faceoffs. Jay Pfeifer once again did a great job in the cage. The team defense was very good and so was our offense. I give a lot of credit to our assistant coaches, Roy Simmons at the defensive end and Kevin Donahue on the offensive end. My hat is off to them because everything worked to a tee today."
The defense limited Johns Hopkins (13-2) to fewer than 10 goals for the first time since April 10. Pfeifer recorded 13 saves and improved his NCAA Tournament record to 8-1. He also moved up to third on SU's career NCAA saves list with his 124 tournament saves since 2002.
Brennan was instrumental in the victory. In the first Syracuse vs. Hopkins meeting on March 20, the Blue Jays won 20 of 24 draws. The Orange rookie did not play in that game. He saw his first action at the X against Loyola on April 10 and since that point has matured into a force at the position. He won the first four draws of the game and finished 16-of-26 for the game. Junior midfielder Jarett Park (Otisco, N.Y.) contributed off the wing and collected three groundballs.
SU led 4-2 after the first quarter. Nee had two goals. Both teams were three-for-three on extra-man opportunities in the first half. Conor Ford and Matt Rewkowski recorded back-to-back goals at 8:49 and 5:48 of the second quarter for Johns Hopkins to knot the score at 4-4. The two teams traded goals once more before halftime and SU senior attackman Michael Powell (West Carthage, N.Y.) found Dougherty with 47 seconds remaining to give the Orange a 6-5 halftime lead. SU improved its record to 10-0 this season when holding the advantage at intermission.
"I was just closing my eyes and shooting," said Dougherty. "I realized pretty early that they weren't sliding to me at all. I think it's pretty easy for anybody on our team to be successful when you're not getting slid to. And I think the theory behind that from Johns Hopkins' point of view is as a team defense they were concentrating on certain guys on our team and they were sagging towards Mike (Powell) or Sean (Lindsay). They were worried about those guys."
Powell broke the school's all-time NCAA assists record with his assist to Dougherty. His three assists against Hopkins pushed him ahead of Tim Nelson, who set the record from 1983-85 with 27 NCAA tournament helpers. Powell now holds the record with 29. He reached another milestone with his third assist to sophomore midfielder Brett Bucktooth (Onondaga Nation, N.Y.) with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter. That assist marked his 300th career point, making him just the fourth Division I player to achieve the feat.
The Blue Jays registered the first two goals of the third quarter. Kyle Harrison tied the game at 6-6 and Ford gave Hopkins its first lead of the game (7-6) at the 12:38 mark. SU sophomore Greg Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y.) netted two third-quarter goals, including one off an assist from linemate Steve Lykudis (Camillus, N.Y.) that tied the game at 7-7 at 10:28. JHU's Greg Peyser used an outside shot to put his team back on top, 8-7, but Rommel answered again with a left-handed shot that found the back of the net with 3:16 left in the third period. SU rattled off the next three goals to take an 11-8 lead into the fourth quarter. The Orange used a left-hander by Dougherty, a blast by Bucktooth and a diving back-handed shot by senior Sean Lindsay (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) with three seconds remaining in the third period to take control of the game.
Powell slipped a slick shot inside Hopkins goalie Scott Smith and the right goalpost while running in from the right side. Dougherty added two more goals in the fourth quarter. By then the game was well in hand.
The Orange has won its last six games. They will meet Navy, a team they did not play during the regular season, but scrimmaged back on February 14 at the Carrier Dome. SU had the upper-hand in that meeting, 10-8, despite the absence of Mike Powell who attended his sister's wedding.
Other news and notes from SU's semifinal win: Senior attackman Brian Nee's third goal of the first half was the 90th of his career. He is the 24th Orange player to score 90 goals in a career. He ranks 23rd on the SU career ledger with 91. SU's second midfield line of Greg Rommel, Steve Lykudis and Brett Bucktooth accounted for four points (three goals, one assist). Rommel scored twice, his first multi-goal game in NCAA Tournament action.
Syracuse will be shooting for its ninth NCAA crown on Memorial Day. The Orange won its last championship in 2002 at Rutgers Stadium. The Orange also won in 2000, 1995, 1993, 1990, 1989, 1988 and 1983.
