Eleven SU Players Find Scoring Column in Rout of Rutgers

Sunday, April 15

Syracuse, NY

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

Rutgers

Brendan Loftus was one of six SU players to score multiple goals against the Scarlet Knights.

Eleven SU Players Find Scoring Column in Rout of Rutgers

4/15/2007 4:15:56 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Eleven different Syracuse players scored at least one goal as the 18^th-ranked Orange (4-6) rolled to a 22-9 victory against Rutgers (4-5) at the Carrier Dome on Sunday, April 15. SU’s 22 scores was the most since it put up 24 goals against Georgetown back in 2000. Junior attackman Mike MacDonald and sophomore attackman Kenny Nims led the way for SU with four goals each. The win ended SU's three-game losing streak and kept alive its hope for an at-large invitation to the 2007 NCAA playoffs.

MacDonald’s four tallies were a career high and Nims’ four goals matched his personal best. Both also contributed an assist to finish with five points apiece. Sophomore Greg Niewieroski (3 goals), junior Mike Leveille (2 goals), graduate student Greg Rommel (2 goals) and junior Brendan Loftus (2 goals) also had multiple scores against the Scarlet Knights.

The SU offense exploded for eight goals in the game’s opening quarter, including the last five of the period, to turn a 3-2 lead into an 8-2 margin at the end of the stanza. The Orange’s eight tallies marked the team’s highest goals total in any period this year. Niewieroski and Nims each registered a goal and an assist in SU’s five-goal spurt. MacDonald also netted his first score of the season during the run. It was his first goal since his freshman year in 2004.

The Orange continued its scoring barrage in the second quarter, netting six more goals to extend its scoring run to 11-0. Rutgers’ Chris Doctor scored off a feed from Mike Dugan with 12 seconds left in the half to end the spree and make the score 14-3 at the intermission.

Five Orange players tallied at least two goals in the first half. Rommel, Leveille, Niewieroski, MacDonald and Loftus combined for 10 of the team’s 14 first-half scores. Loftus’s two goals in the opening half tied his career high.

The halftime break did nothing to slow down the Orange as Niewieroski opened the third-quarter scoring with a right-hand rocket from 10 yards out to put SU in front, 15-3, 1:23 into the second half. Rommel’s brother, Jeff, notched his only goal of the game with 13:05 left in the quarter for Rutgers, but Nims tallied consecutive goals eight seconds apart to push SU’s margin to 17-5 at the 12:07 mark. After a tally by Dugan, SU ripped off the last four goals of the quarter, including the first career goal by freshman Joe Coulter, to take a 21-5 lead into the final period.

SU senior Craig Hammond punctuated SU’s scoring binge with his first career goal with 6:27 left in the game. Matt Gaines recorded the final two goals of the contest for Rutgers to produce the final score.

Every active SU player saw action against the Scarlet Knights, and freshman Nate Tucker made his first career appearance and was credited with the first point of his career when he assisted on MacDonald’s fourth goal of the game, which came with two seconds to go in the third period.

Freshman goalie Al Cavalieri replaced sophomore Peter Coluccini prior to the fourth quarter and made three saves in a little more than 12 minutes of action. Sophomore walk-on Nick Huertas played the final 2:42 of the contest between the pipes for SU and stopped two shots. A game after stopping a personal-best 22 shots, Coluccini made nine saves in three quarters of work to earn the victory.

Syracuse continued its 2007 dominance on faceoffs, winning 24 of the game’s 34 draws. Senior Danny Brennan led the way with a season-best 11-for-13 performance at the “X.”

Gaines, Doctor, and Dugan each scored twice for the Scarlet Knights. Bill Olin started in the cage for Rutgers and played 18:35 before being replaced by backup Peter Pantages with the Scarlet Knights trailing, 11-2. Lyle Farrar also saw time in the cage for Rutgers. He played the fourth period and finished with one save.

With the win, the Orange improved to 21-2 all-time against Rutgers in games played in Syracuse.

The Orange returns to action on Friday, April 20 when it hosts No. 2 Albany at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.