Game Notes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Division I head coaches with the top two active winning percentages will oppose each other when #12 Syracuse visits #2 Georgetown on Saturday, March 10 for a 2:45 p.m. match at Multi-Sport Field. Orange mentor
John Desko owns the highest winning percentage of any active Division I head coach (.754). He is 98-32 overall. The Hoyas Dave Urick ranks second on that list at .753. Urick is 296-97 in his career and is 174-67 as the leader of the Hoyas program.
Saturday's game will be televised live locally on Time Warner 26 and aired in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). The Syracuse-Georgetown women's game, which begins at 12:00 p.m. at Multi-Sport Field, will also be televised live by both entities. Live audio of SU's men's contest can be heard on SUathletics.com via Orange All Access and fans can also tune in to the Syracuse ISP Sports Network broadcast on WNSS (1260 AM).
The Orange enters Saturday’s pairing on a two-game losing streak. Syracuse fell to Army, 8-6, on Feb. 23 and lost to #10 Virginia in the inaugural
Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic, 11-8, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on March 3. Meanwhile, the Hoyas are off to a 2-0 start in 2007, winning its first two games on the road. Georgetown defeated Maryland in its season opener on Feb. 24 and defeated St. John’s in Queens on March 3. Saturday’s game is the home opener for the Hoyas.
OPPONENT CONNECTIONS
A set of brothers meet Saturday when SU junior midfielder Brendan Loftus and Georgetown sophomore attackman Jordan Loftus oppose each other Saturday. Both players attended IHC in Watertown, N.Y.
Orange rookie midfielder Max Bartig will square off against former Northport HS teammate Craig Dowd. In addition, SU’s Steve Panarelli and Danny Brennan will reunite with former high school teammate Jerry Lambe.
The Hoyas have a number of players that hail from Central New York area. In addition to Jordan Loftus (Watertown, N.Y.), Ricky Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Craig Stevenson (Ithaca, N.Y.) are also on the Georgetown roster.
FIRST QUARTER GOOD TO SU
The Orange offense exploded for six first-quarter goals against Virginia in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic on March 3. The scoring barrage represented the most goals the Orange has tallied in any period this season. After falling behind the Cavaliers, 3-0, in the first four minutes, SU rallied with four straight scores to take the lead. The goals came in the span of just 4:06, including goals by Greg Rommel and Dan Hardy 26 seconds apart. Rommel and Niewieroski finished the period with consecutive tallies to put SU in front, 6-5, after one.
Syracuse has 11 first-quarter goals in its first three games, the most of any quarter. It’s first-quarter scoring total is more than its entire second-half output this year (10 goals).
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Syracuse’s sensational sophomores have lived up to their billing in 2007. The Orange’s sophomore class has scored 15 of the team’s 27 goals (55.5 pct.). First-line attackman Dan Hardy leads SU with six, while first-line middie Pat Perritt has four. SU’s other sophomore scorers are attackmen Kenny Nims (2), Greg Niewieroski (2), and midfielder Matt Abbott (1).
SCOUTING THE HOYAS
Georgetown was ranked No. 1 in the national polls after its season-opening win at Maryland. The Hoyas didn’t do anything to hurt their standing, but slipped to No. 2 in rankings behind consensus No. 1 Duke.
The Hoyas have used a stifling defense to score triumphs in its first two outings. Georgetown is allowing just 6.0 goals per game and have held its oppponents to just 55 shots, an average of 22.5 per contest. Goaltender Miles Kass boasts a .647 save percentage and he has 22 saves on the season. Georgetown has also controlled the majority of the loose balls this year. The Hoyas hold a 76-62 advantage in ground balls through its first two games. Freshman Chris Nixon leads the way with 13. In addition, part of what makes the Hoyas defense so tough is their ability to ride. Opponents have only been successful on 77.8 percent of their clearing attempts in 2007.
Brendan Cannon is the team’s leading returning scorer from 2006 and he ranks second on the team in points in 2007 with six (3g, 3a). Rookie midfielder Andrew Brancaccio leads the club with five goals and junior attackman Andrew Baird is Georgetown’s overall scoring leader with seven points (4g, 3a).
SERIES VERSUS GEORGETOWN
The Orange holds an 11-4 lead in teh all-time series, but the Hoyas have won the last two meetings. It is the only time in the history of the series that Georgetown has beaten Syracuse in consecutive games.
The two teams have met three times in the postseason with SU winning all three games. The last time Syracuse and Georgetown played in the NCAA Tournament was in 2004 when the Orange won the national championship.
SU holds the longest winning streak in series history, winning eight straight meetings from 1999-2004.
