Orange Rolls Past Towson, Bucknell in Scrimmage

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The fourth-ranked Orange men's lacrosse team posted a pair of wins in its final tune-up before the start of the regular season. Syracuse knocked off Towson, 13-9, and defeated Bucknell, 13-3, in a three-way scrimmage on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Ensley Athletic Center.

The Towson exhibition featured three regulation quarters and a fourth 15-minute quarter of running time. The Bucknell scrimmage consisted of three regulation quarters and a fourth 20-minute period of running time.

"Two different looks from two different teams, so as players and coaches we had to make adjustments to almost everything," Syracuse head coach John Desko said. "Everybody got in the scrimmages, so a lot of guys are going to leave with smiles on their faces that they got playing time today. All in all a good day for the Orange."

It was an especially good day for the Syracuse defense, as neither Towson nor Bucknell reached double figures.

Against Towson, the Orange tallied six of the first seven goals in the second quarter to open up a 9-3 advantage with 6:17 left in the half. Five different Syracuse players scored in the run, and Kevin Rice and Dylan Donahue each had three points during the rally.

Greg Cuccinello got the momentum back for Towson, scoring a man-up goal after a penalty against SU's Randy Staats. Cuccinello's score closed the gap to 9-4 and sparked a 5-0 Towson run that trimmed the Orange margin to 9-8 with 6:31 left in the third period.

Henry Schoonmaker finished a Rice pass to stop the Towson scoring spurt, and the Syracuse reserves outscored the Tigers' second-teamers 3-1 in the fourth period to pull away.

Rice led the Orange with five points (3 goals, 2 assists). Schoonmaker, Nicky Galasso and Hakeem Lecky contributed two goals each.

Bobby Wardwell started in goal and made nine saves in the first three quarters, including four in the third period. He was replaced by Parker Ferrigan, who stopped three shots in the fourth quarter.

Syracuse doubled up the Tigers at the faceoff X, winning 16-of-24 (.667) draws behind Ben Williams and Cal Paduda. Williams (8-12) and Paduda (6-7) combined to go 14-of-19 (.737) in the contest.

For Towson, Andrew Hodgson recorded five points, including a game-high four goals. Tyler White started for the Tigers in goal and had nine first-half saves.

Against Bucknell, Syracuse led 6-3 at halftime and shut out the Bison in the second half.

Rice led the way again with a game-high six points (3 goals, 3 assists). He factored in the Orange's first four goals and five of the team's six first-half tallies.

Donahue added four points (3 goals, 1 assist) against the Bison and Matt Lane contributed a pair of goals.

Warren Hill started against Bucknell in the cage. He played the first three quarters and totaled 10 saves.

Thomas Flibotte, Kyle Shanahan and Matt Gilray accounted for the three Bison goals. Starting goalie Sam Grinberg made six saves. Brad McKee replaced Grinberg partway through the third quarter and played the remainder of the game, finishing with four saves.

Syracuse opens the 2015 regular season on Saturday, Feb. 7 against Siena. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Dylan Donahue

Parker Ferrigan

Nicky Galasso

Warren Hill

Matt Lane

Hakeem Lecky

Cal Paduda

Kevin Rice

Henry Schoonmaker

Randy Staats

Bobby Wardwell

Ben Williams

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