Game Notes (.pdf)Live Stats
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange (7-1) will play its first game as the nation's No. 1 men's lacrosse team Saturday when it hosts perennial Ivy League power #15 Princeton (4-3) at 3:30 p.m. The contest is a pairing of the two most dominant lacrosse programs in the 1990's. Syracuse and Princeton combined to win eight NCAA titles during the decade. The Orange claimed the championship in 1990, 1993, and 1995. The Tigers took home of the crown in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Saturday's game is first half of a men's and women's doubleheader at the Dome. The Orange women host Georgetown at 12 p.m. in the day's first game. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for youth 12 and under until halftime of the women's game when the cost increases to the regular price for a men's game ($8 for adults and $4 for youth 12 and under).
Orange fans not in attendance can follow the action on the Syracuse Radio Network. Brian Higgins and Kyle Fetterly will have the call on TK-99.5 FM. Live streaming video and audio can be found on SUathletics.com via Orange All Access In addition, Saturday's game will be televised live on Time Warner 26 in Syracuse.
1988 TEAM TO BE RECOGNIZED AT HALFTIME
The 2008 season marks the 20th anniversary of the Orange's 1988 undefeated national championship team. At halftime of the Princeton game, the members of that terrific team will be recognized in a brief ceremony at midfield. SU women's head coach Gary Gait, a sophomore on the 1988 squad, will be in attendance as will approximately 20 other members of the team.
Coached by Hall of Famer
Roy Simmons Jr., the 1988 SU laxers steamrolled the competition. The Orange posted a 15-0 record, including a 13-8 decision against Cornell at the Carrier Dome, to win its first of three straight NCAA titles. Gait had one of the best seasons in school history to propel the Orange to the title. He scored a team record 70 goals and finished with 87 points.
POLL POSITION
Syracuse is back on top of the college lacrosse world as the Orange is ranked No. 1 this week in both the USILA Coaches and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse polls released on March 31. The Orange received 347 points and nine of the 17 first-place votes in the media rankings. It garnered 215 points and eight of the 11 first-place votes in the coaches poll. It's the first time since winning the 2004 NCAA Championship that SU has been anointed the nation's top team and it's the Orange's first No. 1 ranking during the regular season since the second week of the 2003 campaign.
ORANGE REVENGE TOUR CONTINUES
After losing eight games and missing the playoffs in 2007, the year's edition of the Orange is out to prove last season was a fluke. SU has played four of the eight teams it lost to last year and is 3-1 against the those squads in 2008 with wins against Army, Johns Hopkins and Loyola. So far the only team to beat SU in 2007 and 2008 is Virginia, and this year's meeting was decided by one goal in overtime. Later in the campaign, the Orange will look to avenge 2007 losses to Princeton (4/5), Cornell (4/8), Massachusetts (4/26) and Colgate (5/3).
GALLOWAY LEADS ALL FRESHMEN IN GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE
Freshman goaltender John Galloway
leads all rookie netminders this year with a 7.87 goals-against average. He ranks 20th overall in goals-against average according to the latest NCAA statistics released on March 30. Galloway has allowed eight or fewer goals in six of the Orange's eight contests. Jake Hagelin of Loyola is second among freshmen goalies with an 8.71 mark.
In addition, Galloway boasts the second-best save percentage among all rookies nationally (.550). T.C. DiBartolo owns the top freshman mark (.559). Galloway lists 32nd overall in the statistic.
SCOUTING PRINCETON
The Tigers have won their last two games, defeating Rutgers (7-6) on March 25 and Yale (11-8) on March 29 in its Ivy League opener. All-American goaltender Alex Hewit played a key role in both victories, stoning Rutgers' Justin Pennington on the doorstep with six seconds left to secure the win and making 17 saves against the Bulldogs. Hewit, perhaps the top goalie in the nation, was rewarded by being named the Ivy League Player of the Week.
Hewit owns a .577 save percentage and has 82 stops on the season. The defense in front of Hewit consists of preseason All-American Dan Cocoziello, Chris Peyser and Jeremy Hirsch. Cocoziello leads the club in ground balls (23) and also has a goal and an assist. Princeton is allowing just 31.7 shots per game, 15 less than the Orange has attempted per game in 2008.
Offensively, attackman Tommy Davis and midfielder Mark Kovler are the Tigers' top scorers. Davis leads the team with 21 points and eight assists. He also has three of the Tigers' four game-winning goals. Kovler is Princeton's top goal scorer (14). He tallied a career-best four goals against SU last season. Alex Berg is the team's top faceoff man. He owns a .576 winning percentage (80-139).
SERIES NOTES
The Orange has won four of the last five meetings with the Tigers. Princeton broke a four-game losing streak in the series last season with a 12-8 win at Princeton Stadium.
Ten of the 23 meetings in the series have come in the NCAA playoffs. Four of those contests have decided the national championship. The Orange defeated the Tigers in 2000 and 2002 to win the title. Princeton knocked off the Orange in overtime in both 1992 and 2001 for the title.