Orange Lacrosse Reaches New Heights

The Syracuse women’s lacrosse team is one of hottest teams in the nation right now. The Orange has won eight of its last nine games and has reached seven in the national rankings. On Saturday, Syracuse defeated Loyola to win a share of its first BIG EAST regular-season title and turns its focus toward the conference’s tournament, which the Orange is hosting on Friday and Sunday.

The Orange opens the BIG EAST Tournament in the second semifinal game against Rutgers on Friday. Georgetown and Notre Dame are set to square off in the first semifinal on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse will then face Rutgers 45 minutes after the first game concludes. The championship game will be held on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for the championship are $4 for adults and $2 for seniors and youth. Admission is free for students and children 3 and under. Fans can purchase tickets online (click here) or by calling the box office (1-888-DOMETIX).

SU’s No. 7 ranking matches the highest the highest ranking ever for the Orange. Syracuse was also ranked seventh nationally during the 2002 and 2004 seasons.

One of the strengths of this year’s team is its offensive unit. The Orange owns the top offense in the country, averaging 16.43 goals per game. Syracuse is on pace to break the NCAA Record for goals per game in a single season. Gannon University set the mark by averaging 16.18 goals per game during the 1997 season. Syracuse has already set the school single-season record for goals in a season, scoring 230 goals in just 14 games. The 2005 team held the previous record, scoring 205 goals in 17 games.

Many individuals have contributed to the success of the SU offense. The Orange is one of only four teams to have four different players that have scored at least 30 this season (Denver, Monmouth and Northwestern are the others). In addition, the Orange is dominating the BIG EAST leaderboard. Five of the top nine scorers in the conference reside in Syracuse.

Sophomore Katie Rowan has led the charge, ranking third in the conference and 12th nationally with 4.64 points. Freshmen Christina Dove and Halley Quillinan are tied for sixth in the conference with 3.29 points per game and seniors Jill DePetris and Ashley Pike have each tallied 3.07 points per game, the eighth-highest total in the BIG EAST.

Rowan is approaching a number of school records. Rowan has tallied 65 points this season, nine points shy of the school record. Her 44 goals this year are also just eight goals shy of the program’s mark. Rowan ranks sixth in the program’s record book with 121 career points, 90 career goals and 31 career assists. In SU’s first game against Rutgers, Rowan matched school records with 10 points and seven goals.

Rowan is 10 goals shy of becoming the sixth player in school history to post 100 career goals. No Syracuse player has ever reached the 100-goal plateau before their junior season. Leigh-Ann Zimmer was quickest SU player to eclipse the 100-goal mark, reaching the plateau in 40 games. Rowan has recorded 90 goals in just 30 career games.

Three other individuals are also nearing single-season school records. DePetris leads the Orange with 26 assists during her senior season, the second-highest mark in school history.

Dove has won 41 draw controls this year, which ranks third in the SU record books. The school record is 54 draw controls, set by Carrie Soults in 2002. As a team, the Orange ranks first in the nation with 15.00 draw controls per game.

Junior Bridget Looney has led the defensive unit this year. Looney has recorded 28 caused turnovers this year, which ranks second in the SU record books and is just one shy of the school record. Carrie Bolduc posted 29 caused turnovers during the 1999 season.

Syracuse University Athletics

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