Always a Classic: Syracuse and Virginia Put Perfect Records on the Line at Face-Off Classic
2/28/2008 4:02:33 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Game Notes (.pdf)
Face-Off Classic.com
BALTIMORE, Md. - #7/8 Syracuse and #3/3 Virginia square off Saturday, March 1 at 12 p.m. in the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. It is the second straight year the annual meeting will occur as part of the doubleheader put together by
Inside Lacrosse. The event’s second game features Princeton and Johns Hopkins at 2:30 p.m.The event’s four teams have combined to win the last 16 NCAA Championships. The last time SU, Virginia, Princeton or Johns Hopkins didn’t win the title was in 1991 (North Carolina).
Tickets for Saturday's doubleheader are available by calling the Baltimore Ravens Box Office at 410-261-RAVE or by logging on to ticketmaster.com
Orange fans that can't make it to the game can follow the action on the Syracuse Radio Network. Kyle Fetterly will have the call on WTLA 1200/1440 AM. Live streaming audio can be found on SUathletics.com via Orange All Access In addition, Saturday's game will be televised live on ESPNU.
Both Syracuse and Virginia enter this weekend’s contest with unbeaten records. The Orange is 2-0 after posting wins against Villanova and Army, while the Cavaliers are 3-0 with victories over Drexel, Stony Brook and Vermont.
In last year’s inaugural Face-Off Classic, the Cavaliers bested the Orange, 11-8, in front of an NCAA regular-season record crowd of 20,180.
A GOOD OMEN?
With its victory over Army last week, the Orange improved to 2-0 on the year. It marks the first time since the 2004 national championship season that SU started a campaign with consecutive victories. In fact, seven of the Orange’s nine NCAA title-winning clubs won their first two games of the season. The only years it didn’t were 1989 and 1993. In 1989, SU lost its season opener at Johns Hopkins, 14-13, and in 1993 the Orange lost its campaign starter at North Carolina, 14-10.
SU’s 2-0 start is the sixth in 10 years under head coach
John Desko.FROSH PHENOMS IN THE CAGE
Galloway played the first half against the Wildcats on Feb. 17 and made five stops to earn his first collegiate victory. He played the entire game against Army and had six saves. Thus far, Galloway boasts a 6.0 goals-against average.
Ghitelman played the full 60 minutes in the Cavaliers’ opener against Drexel and made seven saves. Against Stony Brook, he allowed 11 goals and was replaced in the third quarter by Bud Petit. Coach Starsia stuck with his young goalie, giving him the start Tuesday against Vermont. Ghitelman responded with four saves in three quarters. He allowed three goals.
DEFENSIVELY DOMINANT
Of the 13 goals scored by its opponents this season, five have come on man-up chances. SU has allowed just eight goals in the two games six-on-six, an average of 4.0 per contest.
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Brennan won 17 faceoffs against Villanova and secured 11 ground balls, one off his career high. Eight of those faceoff victories came in SU’s dominant 10-goal first quarter. Against Army, Brennan was 12-for-16 (.750). He ranked 11th nationally and ninth on SU’s single-season record list with a .607 faceoff winning percentage in 2007.
SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
Head coach Dom Starsia has one of the most explosive attack units in the country. It features juniors Danny Glading and Garrett Billings, as well as Duke transfer Peter Lamade. Lamade, normally a midfielder, moved to attack after 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Ben Rubeor was injured in the preseason. Billings (16) and Glading (12) have combined for 28 points thus far and Billings leads the squad with nine goals. Midfielder Brian Carroll lists second on the club with seven goals.
Virginia’s defensive unit is made up Ken Clausen, Tim Shaw and Matt Kelly, along with rookie goalie Adam Ghitelman. The group held the Catamounts to just two goals over the final three quarters in its 11-goal victory Tuesday.
SERIES TIDBITS
The Orange won eight of the nine meetings between the two teams between 1997 and 2002.
The two teams have met seven times in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers hold the edge, 4-3, in those pairings, including a 17-10 win against SU in the 2006 national semifinals in Philadelphia.
Syracuse defeated Virginia in 1997 by the score of 22-21 at the Carrier Dome. The game is the highest scoring game the Orange has ever been part of (43 combined goals). Casey Powell set an SU scoring record in the contest with 13 points (7g, 6a).
Since 1994, when SU and Virginia began playing annually, the two teams have met 19 times and each squad has scored 267 goals, making the average score of a Syracuse-Virginia game in that span, 14-14.
