Syracuse University
#11 Massachusetts
Men's Lacrosse Defeats UMass, 12-7, for Sixth-Straight Win
4/29/2006 5:14:15 PM | Men's Lacrosse
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Senior attackman Brett Bucktooth recorded his fifth-straight hat trick and the Syracuse defense did not allow a goal for nearly 20 minutes in the second half as the ninth-ranked Orange won a 12-7 decision against No. 11 Massachusetts at the Carrier Dome. It was the sixth consecutive victory for Syracuse (7-4).
UMass (9-4) came into this game tied for third in the nation in scoring offense (11.45 goals per game), but the SU defense kept the Minutemen off the scoreboard for a span of 19 minutes, 24 seconds in the third and fourth quarters. During that time, the Orange managed to rattle off five-straight goals, turning a one-goal lead (7-6) into a 12-6 advantage by the time 39 seconds remained.
Senior defenseman John Wright held the nation's leading point scorer and assist man, Sean Morris, to two goals. Morris came into this game averaging 4.45 points per game. Redshirt freshman goaltender Peter Coluccini finished with 11 saves.
The Orange scored the game's first two goals. Freshman midfielder Pat Perritt's shot on the run just 59 seconds in gave SU a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Mike Leveille made it 2-0 on an eight-yard, man-up opportunity which was set up for him by Bucktooth at the 11:21 mark.
Massachusetts countered with four-straight goals to close out the first quarter with a 4-2 lead. Clay Stabert, Fred Federico, Sean Morris and Brett Garber each scored goals.
Bucktooth's first goal of the game came at the 11:59 mark of the second quarter. It was a high shot that flew past UMass goalie Doc Schneider. Freshman midfielder Matt Abbott pulled the 'Cuse even at 4-4 by dodging his way to the cage at the 10:46 mark.
Junior defenseman Steve Panarelli tallied his fourth goal of the season with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. He checked the ball free from a UMass midfielder in SU's defensive end, came up with the groundball and made a bee line for the cage. He sent a shot into the upper left corner of the goal to give the Orange a 5-4 lead.
UMass called timeout and answered with a goal by Morris at the 7:37 mark to tie the score at 5-5. That would be as close as the Minutemen would get.
Senior midfielder Brian Crockett scored with 6:12 remaining in the second quarter to give Syracuse a lead it would never relinquish.
Perritt disrupted a UMass fast-break opportunity with a diving check from behind and then brought the Dome crowd of 4,586 to its feet with a behind-the-back goal off a pass from Joe Yevoli with 15 seconds remaining in the first half. SU led, 7-5, at halftime.
Garber netted his second goal of the afternoon off a pass from Brian Jacovina at 10:21 of the third quarter to pull UMass to within a goal, 7-6. It was one of Jacovina's game-high four assists on the day.
Yevoli pushed SU's lead back to two goals when he collected a rebound and shot quickly.
Bucktooth's second goal was an impressive 12-yard shot on an extra-man opportunity. He pump-faked and froze the defense and then let loose a nasty shot that traveled low to high on its way into the back of the net with 2:35 remaining in the third period.
With 11:24 remaining in the game, SU's John Carrozza was called for a one-minute, nonreleasable penalty. The Orange man-down unit successfully killed the penalty. With about six minutes remaining, senior midfielder Nathan Kenney picked up a groundball and delivered a pass to Bucktooth at the other end who finished for Syracuse's 10th goal.
Freshman midfielder Dan Hardy used an overhand shot to extend the Orange's lead to five goals, 11-6, with 4:08 left.
With 1:54 remaining, UMass committed three penalties (two slashes and a 30-second hold) trying to get the ball free from Abbott and Kenny Nims. SU failed to score on those two extra-man opportunities, but Crockett registered his 106th career goal off a feed from Leveille with 39 seconds remaining to make it 12-6. That play moved Crockett into a tie for 17th place on the school's all-time goals list with Jim Morrissey (1993-96) and Matt Cutia (1996-99).
With 15 seconds left, Jim Connolly finished a pass from Jacovina for the game's final goal.
Syracuse plays its final regular-season game at Colgate's Andy Kerr Stadium on Saturday, May 6, at 1 p.m. The game will be televised LIVE by Time Warner Sports 26 and carried by CSTV.
