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Shop Authentic Syracuse beats Johns Hopkins to win lax national championship:
FOXBORO, Mass. -- The
Syracuse men's lacrosse team (16-2) claimed its record 10th national
championship all-time with a 13-10 victory against Johns Hopkins (11-6)
on Saturday in front of an NCAA final and outdoor title game record 48,970 fans at Gillette Stadium. Junior midfielder Dan Hardy (Tully, N.Y.) powered the Orange offense with a team-high three goals en route to all-tournament team recognition.
Head coach John Desko, in his 10th season at the helm of the Orange program, hoists the hardware for the fourth time in his career, ranking second all-time. Syracuse captured its 16th win of the 2008 season against the Blue Jays, matching the program's all-time record for victories in a season. The Orange fashioned a perfect 16-0 resume in 1922.
Syracuse becomes just the second team in NCAA history to win the national championship after missing the playoffs the prior season. The 1983 edition of the Orange claimed the crown after finishing 6-4 in 1982 and failing to advance to the postseason. Fittingly, the NCAA honored the 1983 team at halftime in honor of its 25-year anniversary of capturing the title.
Senior attackman Mike Leveille (Delmar, N.Y.) earned the tournament's most outstanding player honor after posting three points on one goal and two assists against the Blue Jays. He extends his consecutive point streak to 57 games, ranking second nationally and fourth all-time in the Orange record books. Leveille totaled seven points on five goals, including the overtime winner, and two assists versus Virginia in a 12-11 semifinal win.
Leveille finishes his Orange tenure having etched his name into a number of career scoring annals. He lists ninth in goals (134), 12th in assists (82) and 12th in points (215). Leveille, named the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner on Saturday, is a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the nation's top lacrosse player.
Senior faceoff specialist Danny Brennan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) joins Hardy and Leveille with all-tournament team accolades. He posted a 13-for-26 performance at the X, collected six groundballs and scored his first career goal in the opening period.
Senior midfielder Brendan Loftus (Watertown, N.Y.), junior attackman Kenny Nims (Watertown, N.Y.) and rookie man-up specialist Stephen Keogh (Toronto, Ontario) added two goals apiece. Senior midfielder Steven Brooks (Libertyville, Ill.) recorded three points on one score and two helpers.
Defensively, junior defenseman Sid Smith (Ohsweken, Ontario) is the fourth and final member of the Orange to claim all-tournament distinction. He registered three groundballs and helped hold the Hopkins front attack line, with senior defenders Evan Brady (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Kyle Guadagnolo (Jordan, N.Y.), to just three combined goals. Junior midfielder Matt Abbott (Syracuse, N.Y.) matched Brennan with a club-leading six groundballs.
The Blue Jays claimed a 4-2 lead at the conclusion of the first period, keyed by two goals from midfielder Paul Rabil. Syracuse got on the board, and evened the scoring at 1-1, following a nifty behind-the-head rebound goal from Keogh on the doorstep at the 7:51 mark.
The quarter came to a close in a frenzy, with three goals scored in a 26 second span in the final minute of play. Sandwiched between two Johns Hopkins markers, Brennan deposited his first career score off a fast break following a faceoff win. Falling to the ground, the senior beat JHU netminder Michael Gvozden with one bounce.
The Orange scored six of the game's next seven goals, sparked by Keogh's tally from just outside the crease and off a feed from rookie longstick midfielder Joel White (Syracuse, N.Y.). Syracuse carried a 6-5 edge into the locker room following three goals in a span of 5:13, sparked by Nims' strike from seven-yards out.
Hardy's first marker of the game, at the 1:34 mark of the second period, handed the Orange its first lead of the contest, 6-5. SU jumped to an 8-5 cushion behind scores from Hardy and Brooks to open the third frame.
The Blue Jays responded, scoring three of the game's next four goals and twice trimming the Orange lead to just one goal. With JHU nipping at the game's equalizer, senior midfielder Brendan Loftus and Hardy's third goal of the game handed Syracuse a much-needed two-goal advantage, 10-8, heading into the fourth stanza.
The Orange secured a comfortable five-goal advantage, 13-8, after three answered scores. Nims tickled the twine again before Loftus and Leveille beat Gvozden with two goals separated by just 10 seconds.
Syracuse controlled possession of the fourth quarter, forcing back-to-back turnovers on Hopkins' clears in the opening minutes. The Blue Jays committed 23 turnovers for the game and failed to convert on 4-of-5 man-up chances.
Freshman goalkeeper John Galloway (Syracuse, N.Y.) becomes just the fourth true freshman netminder to win an NCAA title, collecting seven saves in the win. Gvozden tallied 20 saves in the loss for Hopkins, including eight in the first period. He tallied the most saves in a final since Maryland's Brian Dougherty posted 23 in a 13-9 loss to the Orange in 1995.
Rabil led the Blue Jays with seven points on a career-high six goals and one assist. Senior attackman Kevin Huntley added three points on one goal and two helpers. Senior longstick midfielder Matt Bocklet tallied nine groundballs.
Desko improves his record to 4-2 in national title tilts and 23-5 in the NCAA tournament, ranking first all-time with an .821 winning percentage. He ranks second all-time among sideline generals with four national championships, behind former legendary Syracuse mentor Roy Simmons, Jr. (6) and current Princeton head coach Bill Tierney (6).
Syracuse began its climb to the top of the college lacrosse scene with a 17-16 win against Hopkins in 1983. The Orange claimed three consecutive crowns from 1988-90 with victories versus Cornell (13-8), JHU (13-12) and Loyola (21-9). SU won the game's top honor in 1993 and 1995 against North Carolina (13-12) and Maryland (13-9), respectively. Desko captured his first title in 2000 (Princeton, 13-7), followed by his second and third in 2002 (Princeton, 13-12) and 2004 (Navy, 14-13).
2008 All-Tournament Team
Paul Rabil, Johns Hopkins
Dan Hardy, Syracuse
Dan Glading, Virginia
Kevin Huntley, Johns Hopkins
Mike Leveille, Syracuse (MOP)
Michael Evans, Johns Hopkins
Michael Gvozden, Johns Hopkins
Danny Brennan, Syracuse
Zack Greer, Duke
Sid Smith, Syracuse
-----------------
Score by Period 1 2 3 4 Tot
-------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins....... 4 1 3 2 - 10
Syracuse............ 2 4 4 3 - 13
Attendance: 48,970
Johns Hopkins SCORING:
GOALS: Paul Rabil 6; Kevin Huntley 2; Steven Boyle 1; Kyle Wharton 1.
ASSISTS: George Castle 1; Kevin Huntley 1; Michael Kimmel 1; Stephen Peyser 1;
Paul Rabil 1.
Syracuse SCORING:
GOALS: Hardy, Dan 3; Loftus, Brendan 2; Nims, Kenny 2; Keogh; Stephen 2;
Leveille, Mike 1; Brooks, Steven 1; Perritt, Patrick 1; Brennan; Danny 1.
ASSISTS: Brooks, Steven 2; Leveille, Mike 2; Niewieroski, Greg 1; White, Joel 1.
SHOTS BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
-------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins....... 9 10 14 5 - 38
Syracuse............ 16 15 6 9 - 46
GROUND BALLS BY PRD 1 2 3 4 Tot
-------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins....... 10 8 6 9 - 33
Syracuse............ 11 10 7 16 - 44
FACE-OFFS BY PRD 1 2 3 4 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins....... 3-7 3-6 5-8 2-5 - 13-26
Syracuse............ 4-7 3-6 3-8 3-5 - 13-26
CLEARS BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins....... 6-6 5-6 4-4 5-6 - 20-22
Syracuse............ 2-2 7-8 5-6 7-8 - 21-24
EXTRA-MAN OPPS 1 2 3 4 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins....... 0-2 0-2 0-0 1-1 - 1-5
Syracuse............ 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 - 1-2
SAVES BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
-------------------------------------
Johns Hopkins....... 8 6 2 4 - 20
Syracuse............ 2 0 3 2 - 7
PENALTIES - Johns Hopkins 2/1:30; Syracuse 5/3:00.
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