SU Gets Big Win Against Army

Friday, February 20

Syracuse, NYc

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

#18 Army

Kenny Nims had three goals and three assists against Army.

2/20/2009 9:35:39 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score | Quotes | Photos

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Top-ranked Syracuse improved to 2-0 on Friday, Feb. 20 with a 17-6 victory against No. 18 Army (1-1) at the Carrier Dome. The Orange trailed, 3-1, after the first quarter, but outscored the Black Knights, 11-1, in the second and third quarters to cruise to the victory.

Senior Kenny Nims was the Orange's leading scorer for the second straight game, tallying three goals and dishing out three assists for a total of six points. Classmate Dan Hardy tied his personal-best with five points in the contest, including a career-high three assists. He now has 99 points (61g, 38a) in his SU career. Sophomore Stephen Keogh recorded his second straight hat trick in the game. He also added an assist for a total of four points.

Syracuse dominated the statistics in the first period, winning four of the quarter's five faceoffs and holding an 18-4 advantage in ground balls and a 16-4 margin in shots. However, Army goaltender Tom Palesky made five saves in the quarter to keep SU at bay early. Offensively, the Black Knights scored on two of their first three shots, getting goals from Anthony Maisano at the 12:21 mark and Baldwinsville native Jeremy Boltus five minutes later to take a 2-0 advantage. After Nims got SU on the scoreboard with 9:15 to go in the quarter, Rob McCallion scored off a pass from Boltus with 33 seconds remaining in the period to push the Army lead back to two, 3-1, at the end of the stanza.

Syracuse righted the ship in the second quarter. After scoring once on 16 shots in the first period, the Orange found the cage four times on 10 attempts in the second. Sophomore Josh Amidon, junior Chris Daniello and Nims each scored unassisted goals in the first six minutes of the frame; and the Orange outscored Army , 4-0, overall in the quarter to take a 5-3 lead at the intermission. The Orange also got a lift from its man-down defense, which killed three Army extra-man opportunities in the first 30 minutes.

The Orange extended its run to 6-0 as Keogh and Amidon found the cage at the 11:34 and 9:23 marks of the third quarter, respectively, to extend the SU advantage to 7-3. Nims assisted on both goals. He also scored twice in the quarter and had a hand in four of the Orange's seven goals in the period.

Army snapped its 23:11 scoring drought when Boltus found Tyler Oates for a goal with 6:49 to go in the third to cut the lead to 8-4. But it was all Orange the rest of the quarter as SU netted the final four goals of the period to up 12-4. Included in the run was a behind-the-back tally by Hardy off a pass from Joel White in transition that ignited the home crowd.

With the game in hand, Syracuse played its reserves in the fourth quarter and outscored the Black Knights, 5-2, to produce the final score.

Boltus led Army with four points, including three assists. Palesky finished with 11 saves for the Black Knights in 52:37 of action.

For Syracuse, goaltender John Galloway recorded his 18th win in 20 career starts. He made five saves before being replaced by junior Al Cavalieri midway through the fourth quarter.

The Orange converted on both of its man-up opportunities Friday night and is now 8-for-9 (.889) on the extra man this season. Syracuse also held the edge in shots (51-24), ground balls (42-30) and was a perfect 22-for-22 on clears.

The Orange will close out a three-game homestand on Friday, Feb 27 against No. 2 Virginia. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Time Warner Sports 26.

Game Notes: With his six points, Nims extended his consecutive game scoring streak to 18 games … The Orange has won 13 of the last 14 meetings with the Black Knights dating back to 1984 … Senior Scott Kahoe had two points (1g, 1a) Friday, equaling his career high scoring total … Freshman midfielder Kevin Drew and sophomore Alex Giocondi each scored the first goals of their careers in the fourth quarter … Senior Jake Moulton established personal bests in faceoffs won and attempted, going 9-for-16 against Army at the X.