Syracuse University
#16 Massachusetts
Another Ranked Opponent Awaits Orange
4/24/2009 6:14:55 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Listen Live | Live Stats | Game Notes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The third-ranked Orange (10-2) plays its final regular-season road match on Saturday, April 25 when faces No. 16 Massachusetts (8-4) at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. It will be the first lacrosse game at McGuirk since the Minutemen hosted Syracuse there in 1997. In addition, the Minutemen are attempting to break the school's lacrosse attendance record of 12,143 set back in 1989.
Saturday's game will air live nationally on CBS College Sports. Fans can also listen to the action via the Syracuse ISP Sports Network's flagship station TK 99 (99.5 FM). The audio stream of the broadcast is available world-wide on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Syracuse owns a 27-8 lead in the all-time series with Massachusetts. The Orange won 22 straight games from 1982 to 2002 before a 14-13 overtime victory by the Minutemen in 2003 ended the streak. Massachusetts has won three of the last five pairings, including the only postseason contest between the two schools in 2005. The Orange has not won a road game against the Minutemen since 2001.
DESKO VERSUS MASSACHUSETTS
Orange head coach John Desko is 7-4 all-time against Massachusetts with two of his four defeats coming in overtime (2003 and 2005). Desko is 5-0 all-time at home versus Massachusetts. All four of his losses against the Minutemen have come on the road.
ORANGE THIRD IN NCAA INITIAL RPI RANKINGS
Syracuse always plays one of the most competitive schedules in the nation and that was reflected in the first 2009 RPI report released on Tuesday, April 21. The Orange is third and trails Johns Hopkins and Virginia in the initial rankings. Syracuse has three wins over top 10 RPI teams thus far - No. 1 Johns Hopkins, No. 8 Cornell and No. 10 Loyola. The RPI is one factor the selection committee uses to determine seeding and which teams earn at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS
The Minutemen are 8-4 overall and are tied with Loyola for first place in the ECAC Lacrosse League at 5-1. Both teams have one conference game remaining and should they finish tied UMass will receive the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship by virtue of its head-to-head win against the Greyhounds back in March. The strength of this year's UMass team has been its defense and goalie play. The Minutemen are eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 7.41 goals per contest and they boast one of the top netminders in the nation in senior Doc Schneider. Schneider is a 2009 Tewaaraton Trophy nominee and he is third nationally in save percentage (.661) and fifth in goals-against average (6.86). He has 156 saves (13.0 spg) and stopped 12 shots Tuesday at Fairfield.
Offensively, senior attackman Jim Connolly leads the team with 30 goals and 35 points and he lists ninth in the country in goals per game (2.5). He is flanked by classmate Tim Balise who has 25 goals and 30 total points.
LAST TIME OUT: SYRACUSE VS. ALBANY - APRIL 17, 2009
The Orange survived a furious third-quarter rally to record its 10th win of the season, 15-13, against No. 20 Albany on April 17. The Great Danes outscored Syracuse, 8-1, in the third period, but the Orange tallied four goals in the final quarter to secure a two-goal victory. SU entered the third quarter leading 10-2, but the momentum swung Albany's way as Corey Small and Joe Resetarits combined for five of the Great Dane's eight goals in the period the visitors within one, 11-10. The momentum turned back in Syracuse's favor when Albany's Brendan Gleason attempted a pass back towards his own net to start a clear, but SU rookie Kevin Drew raced up from behind, checked his stick and ball fluttered into the empty Albany goal to make the score 12-10 with 14:54 left. The play sparked a 4-0 SU run that extended the lead to 15-10 and the Orange held on in the final minutes for the victory. Senior midfielder Dan Hardy tied his career high with five points (3g, 2a) in the contest. Sophomore attackman Stephen Keogh also had three goals and two assists to lead SU.
UP NEXT
Syracuse will host Central New York rival Colgate in its regular-season finale on Saturday, May 2 at 2 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.
