Syracuse Begins Tough Stretch at No. 11 Loyola Saturday

Game Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - #13 Syracuse (3-3) begins one of its toughest stretches of the season when it takes on No. 11 Loyola (4-2) at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field in Baltimore on Saturday, March 31 at 1:00 p.m. Saturday's game is the first of three consecutive matches versus teams ranked in the top 12 of this week’s USILA Coaches Poll. SU also travels to No. 8 Princeton and hosts No. 1 Cornell in the coming weeks.

The Loyola game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and aired in the Baltimore area in ABC-2. Live streaming video and audio of the contest can be found on SUathletics.com via Orange All Access and fans can also tune in to the Syracuse ISP Sports Network radio broadcast on WNSS (1260 AM).

THE LAST TIME OUT
The Orange got back on the winning track on March 24 with a 16-10 victory over Binghamton in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The victory was the 100th for SU head coach John Desko. The milestone win came in his 133rd game, making him the fastest active Division I coach to win 100 games.

SU’s 16 scores was a season-high and every member of the Orange’s starting attack and first midfield notched at least one point versus the Bearcats. Sophomore attack Kenny Nims tallied a personal-best four goals and finished with a career-high five points. Junior midfielder Steven Brooks continued his hot shooting with four scores, and junior attack Mike Leveille registered his first hat trick of the season, and finished with four points to extend his consecutive game scoring streak to 32.

Senior face-off specialist Jon Jerome dominated on draws, winning the first 14 of the game on his way to a career-best 18-for-21 showing. As a team, SU won 23 of the game’s 28 faceoffs.

CAN I HELP YOU?
Three SU players etched their names in the assists column for the first time in 2007 with helpers in the Orange’s win over Binghamton on March 24. Junior attack Mike MacDonald, junior midfielder Steve Babbles, senior face-off specialist Jon Jerome each tallied their first assists of the year in the game, and Jerome’s helper marked the first point of his career. MacDonald’s assist came on sophomore Kenny Nims second goal of the game. A Babble’s pass led to second-quarter score by junior Steven Brooks. Jerome’s assist came after he won a faceoff and fed Nims for a goal to put the Orange in front, 2-0.

The Orange roster already features 13 players that have at least one assist. Last year, Syracuse had 12 players with at least one assist. Junior attack Mike Leveille leads the Orange with 11 helpers. Leveille ranks 13th in the nation in assists per game (1.83).

JEROME FOURTH NATIONALLY IN FACE-OFF WINNING PERCENTAGE
Syracuse senior face-off specialist Jon Jerome vaulted up the national rankings this week and is currently fourth in the country in face-off winning percentage (.653, 62-95). Jerome put on one of most impressive displays at the "X" in recent memory, winning his first 14 draws against Binghamton on March 24 on his way to a career-best 18-for-21 showing. Jerome did not lose a faceoff until the third quarter and helped the Orange to 23 wins in 28 attempts versus the Bearcats.

Jerome’s current clip is on pace to rank fifth on SU’s single-season list, and would be the highest winning percentage for an Orange face-off specialist since Chris Cercy won better than 69 percent in 2001. Delware’s Alex Smith currently leads the country in face-off winning percentage at .793.

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
Loyola has strung together four consecutive wins since beginning 2007 with back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Towson. The Greyhounds are 3-0 in ECAC action, including a 10-8 triumph over Massachusetts, in their most recent game on March 24. The Syracuse match wraps up a season-long, three-game homestand for Loyola.

Junior attack Shane Koppens is Loyola’s points leader with 20, including a team-best 12 assists. Senior attack Dan Bauers is the Greyhounds’ top finisher with 15 goals. His 15 scores are almost double Koppens eight goals, which ranks second on the club. Four of Bauers goals have come in man-up situations. The Greyhounds are 9-of-35 (.257) on man-up chances this season.

Dan Kallaugher should be an excellent combatant for SU face-off ace Jon Jerome. Kallaugher owns a .618 winning percentage on the year (68-110) and was 11-for-20 on draws versus the Minutemen last Saturday. As a team, the Greyhounds have won better than 61 percent of their faceoffs in 2007, while holding opponents to a .387 face-off winning percentage.

Loyola goaltender Alex Peaty tied his career high with 15 saves against Massachusetts. For the season, he is 3-2 with an 8.12 goals-against average and 68 saves. Connor Locke has also seen time between the pipes for the Greyhounds. In a little under 50 minutes of action he has four saves and a 7.23 goals-against average.

The Greyhounds are led by second-year coach Charley Toomey, who holds an overall record of 10-8 after going 6-6 in his first season at the helm of his alma mater. Toomey took over after working as an assistant at the school for seven years. He ranks among Loyola’s all-time leaders in saves and was the goalie for the Greyhounds when they met the Orange in the 1990 national title game.

THE SERIES VERSUS LOYOLA
The Orange leads the all-time series against the Greyhounds, 17-4, and Syracuse comes into Saturday’s match with a five-game series winning streak. Two of Syracuse’s four losses to the Greyhounds have come in overtime, including a 14-13 defeat in 2001.

The Orange has scored double-digit goals in each of the last eight games against the Greyhounds, and has put up at least 10 scores in 19 of the 21 previous meetings.

Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse Begins Tough Stretch at No. 11 Loyola Saturday

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