Syracuse University
#2 Navy (NCAA Final)
Men's Lacrosse Wins Ninth NCAA Championship
5/31/2004 7:43:22 PM | Men's Lacrosse
2004 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
#4 Syracuse 14, #2 Navy 13
May 31, 2004
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
Attendance: 43,898
Syracuse outscored Navy 3-1 in the final five minutes to overcome a 12-11 fourth-quarter deficit and went on to a 14-13 victory in the 2004 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse championship at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. It was Syracuse's ninth NCAA lacrosse championship and third in the last six seasons under head coach John Desko.
A determined senior class led this year's championship quest. SU's final two goals of the game were scored by seniors Brian Nee (Cockeysville, Md.) and Michael Powell (West Carthage, N.Y.), respectively. After Clipper Lennon gave Navy a 12-11 lead with a transition goal with 5:40 remaining in the contest, Syracuse gained possession thanks to a Steve Panarelli (Farmingdale, N.Y.) check. SU called timeout and came back on the field to tie the score at 12-12 when sophomore attackman Brian Crockett (Yorktown, N.Y.) finished a pass from senior Steve Vallone (Corning, N.Y.) with 4:57 remaining. Powell found Nee to give SU a 13-12 advantage with 3:37 remaining and Nee returned the favor by dishing off to Powell on the right side of a fast break with a minute remaining in the match. It was Powell's first goal of the game and the 150th of his career. Ian Dingman capped off the Mids' scoring with his second goal of the contest with 40 seconds remaining on the clock.
Navy's final shot was attempted by a streaking Billy Looney in the waning seconds and was altered by a diving Jarett Park (Otisco, N.Y.), a junior midfielder who finished with four groundballs and an assist for the Orange.
"This was a very emotional game," said Desko. "It was a different championship game. Our opponent, the United States Naval Academy, (head coach) Richie Meade and his staff just had a real sense of pride. I was so proud of them being there, and the way they've played all season. They played with a bigger cause. It didn't have the feel of other opponents. We were pulling for them also."
Coming up big in the cage for SU was junior goaltender Jay Pfeifer (Towson, Md.) who recorded 15 saves, including nine in the second half and five point-blank stops in the third quarter. A proven NCAA Tournament goalie who has handled the pressure of big games, Pfeifer improved his postseason record to 9-1, tying him for the most wins by a Syracuse goalie in the NCAA playoffs along with Matt Palumb (9-0) and Rob Mulligan (9-2). His .900 NCAA winning percentage is second only to Palumb's 1.000.
The championship game between Syracuse and Navy featured 10 ties and four lead changes. No one team held more than a two-goal edge the entire day. Syracuse went ahead 10-8 at the end of the third quarter when senior attackman Alex Zink (Rowayton, Conn.) scored a man-up goal. The Orange's second two-goal lead was 14-12 in the fourth period.
Powell tallied a game-high six points on one goal and five assists to earn the NCAA Most Outstanding Player Award for the second time in his career (2002, 2004). He is the first Orange player to win the honor twice during his career.
Powell exits the Syracuse program as the all-time leading scorer with 307 career points. He finished fourth on the all-time assists list with 157 behind Tim Nelson (187), John Zulberti (158) and Tim O'Hara (158) and sixth on the career goals chart at SU with 150.
Desko has now guided the Orange to five NCAA title game appearances in his six seasons as head coach. In that time, his teams have won three championships (2000, 2002, 2004) and finished second twice (1999, 2001). He owns an overall record of 80-19 (.808) and is 17-3 in postseason play, good for an NCAA Tournament winning percentage of .850, tops in the nation.
Earning NCAA All-Tournament honors were Pfeifer, Powell, Nee, Sean Lindsay, Kevin Doughertyand Dan DiPietro. It was the first time for Nee, Lindsay, Dougherty and DiPietro. Powell and Pfeifer were recognized in 2002.
