SU Tops Terps In NCAAs, 11-6

Saturday, May 16

Hempstead, NY

12 p.m.

Syracuse University

#13 Maryland

Al Cavalieri made a career-best 14 saves in his first career start Saturday.

5/16/2009 2:15:08 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score | Quotes | Photos

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Syracuse (14-2) tallied the first four goals of the game and never trailed in an 11-6, NCAA quarterfinal victory against Maryland (10-7) at Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium on Saturday, May 16. The Orange advances to its 26th NCAA Final Four next weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

Sophomore attackman Stephen Keogh, senior midfielder Dan Hardy and senior attackman Kenny Nims each had two goals while helping the Orange win its 25th consecutive quarterfinal matchup. Syracuse won its seventh straight contest.

The Orange was without regular goalie John Galloway, a sophomore, for the first time in two seasons. Galloway missed the contest with the flu, the first missed start in his career. In his place, junior Al Cavalieri made his first collegiate start and responded with a solid effort. Cavalieri finished with 14 saves, 10 better than his previous career high.

Syracuse opened the game's scoring with four consecutive tallies. Nims scored with a drive over the goalie's shoulder and sophomore midfielder Josh Amidon found the net after a pass from Nims.

In the midst of an SU possession, starting Maryland goalie Brian Phipps suffered a left knee injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the contest. The Orange took advantage quickly with senior midfielder Matt Abbott finding Hardy, who scored 19 seconds after the injury. Junior Cody Jamieson bulled his way to a goal in the early stages of the second quarter to put the Orange ahead, 4-0.

The Terrapins were held off the board for the first 19:45 of play, a drought ended by Jeremy Sieverts goal. Grant Catalino narrowed the gap for Maryland to 4-2 but Nims struck again with his 27th goal of the year and Abbott contributed his second assist of the game.

The Orange had the only two penalties of the first half and Maryland took advantage of the second miscue when Catalino tallied a man-up score with 1:27 remaining in the half.

Keogh and Catalino traded goals in the third period and then the Orange tallied three in a span of 2:10 to push the margin to 9-4. Senior midfielder Pat Perritt, who finished with a goal and two assists, had an unassisted goal to start the stretch. Keogh found the mark, his 46th of the season, in SU's first man-up attempt of the afternoon. Perritt then fed Hardy with 1:07 left in the third period.

Syracuse scored twice in the first 1:27 of the final quarter. Senior defenseman Sid Smith carried the ball deep into Maryland territory in a rare rush and located junior defender Tyler Hlawati on the doorstep. The longstick dumped it into the net for his first career goal and Syracuse led 10-4. Junior Chris Daniello capped the run with an assist from Nims with 13:33 to go in regulation.

Maryland completed the game's scoring with goals by Scott Tompkins and Sieverts in the final two minutes of play.

Syracuse outshot Maryland 38-26, paced by 13 shot attempts in the first and third quarters. The Orange was 20-of-21 on clears and had a slight, 11-10 edge in faceoffs.

Syracuse narrowed Maryland's advantage in the series to 8-6. SU has now won five of the last six against the Terps, including five straight during postseason action.

Syracuse's semifinal opponent will be the winner of Sunday's pairing between third-seeded Duke and sixth-seeded North Carolina.

Notes: The matchup with Maryland marked Syracuse's 28th appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals ... The Orange improved to 26-2 in NCAA quarterfinals and 59-18 in NCAA Tournament contests ... Syracuse upped its record to 11-0 in 2009 when scoring the game's first goal ... The Orange is 30-4 since the start of the 2008 season ... Galloway did not start for the first time in his career, breaking a streak that reached 33 games. . .Entering the game, Cavalieri had not played more than one quarter at SU in any one game ... His five first-quarter saves exceeded his career-best effort. . .Nims' first-quarter assist extended his points scored streak to 32 games.