Opening Act: Orange Ready for Season Opener
2/19/2008 4:44:54 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Media Day Photo Gallery
Head Coach Gary Gait Media Day Quotes
Student-Athlete Media Day Quotes
Head coach Gary Gait and the fifth-ranked Syracuse women's lacrosse team make their 2008 debut on Wednesday when they welcome Canisius to the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. The Orange returns seven starters from last year's squad that recorded the most successful season in school history, winning a program-best 13 games, tying for the BIG EAST regular-season title, taking home the inaugural conference tournament title and recording the school's first NCAA Tournament victory. Orange fans can follow all of the action in the season opener on suathletics.com via Orange All Access, which provides live audio and video as well as live stats. The game will also be broadcast live on WJPZ 89.1 FM in Syracuse. Admission for the game is free.
The coaching staff and student-athletes participated in its annual media day on Tuesday in the Carrier Dome to preview the upcoming season.
"It has been a long preseason, no question," Gait said. "It's been a long wait and we'll go out there ready to give it our all tomorrow night."
Orange in Season Openers
The Orange has an all-time record of 5-5 in season openers. Syracuse has opened the season in the Carrier Dome four times and has been victorious in three of those contests.
The last time the team opened the season at home was against Harvard in 1996, a game the Orange won, 15-9. In that contest Katie Rowan and Megan Mosenson combined for seven goals in their first collegiate game.
Syracuse lost its opening contest in 2007, an 11-10 thriller to No. 6 Dartmouth. Christina Dove made an immediate impact in her debut, scoring a team-high three goals.
Gait Era Begins
A new era in Syracuse women’s lacrosse begins on Wednesday when lacrosse legend Gary Gait makes his debut on the Orange sideline. Gait was named the second head coach in the history of the program on August 27, 2007. A four-time All-American and Hall of Fame inductee, Gait returns to his alma mater where he led the Syracuse men’s team to three straight NCAA championships (1988, 1989, 1990). He earned the Player of the Year award twice and in 1997, was named to the NCAA 25th Anniversary Lacrosse Team.
Gait also won seven national titles as an assistant women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland. For the past two seasons, Gait has served as head coach of the Colorado Mammoth on the National Lacrosse League.
A Look at the Canisius Game
Wednesday's game is the first-ever meeting between the two schools ... While the Orange is opening the season Wednesday, Canisius enters the game with 0-1 record after losing its season-opener at Notre Dame, 22-10 .... Syracuse enters the 2008 season with an all-time record of 106-53 ... The Orange’s all-time winning percentage of .667 ranks eighth in the nation ... Syracuse is coming off its most successful season in the history of the program. SU won a school-record 13 games in 2007, tied for the BIG EAST regular-season title, won the inaugural conference tournament and defeated Vanderbilt in the NCAA first round, its first win in the post-season tournament.
