Princeton University
Syracuse
Players Mentioned
Big Second Half Leads No. 1 Syracuse Past Princeton
April 05, 2008 | Men's Lacrosse
The Syracuse Orange became the No. 1 in Division I men's lacrosse earlier this week and then went out Saturday afternoon and looked every bit the part.
Syracuse used a back-breaking goal to end the third quarter and then sprinted away in the fourth quarter en route to a 13-6 win over Princeton in front of 6,501 at the Carrier Dome in a matchup of teams that have combined to win 14 of the last 20 NCAA championships.
Syracuse, who followed Johns Hopkins, Duke and Virginia in the No. 1 spot in the USILA coaches' poll and the Inside Lacrosse media poll, improved to 8-1 with the win. Princeton fell to 4-4 and now finishes its schedule with five straight Ivy League opponents, beginning Tuesday night against Penn at 8 p.m. at the Class of 1952 Stadium.
Princeton continued a season-long trend that has seen the Tigers never lead in any of their four losses and never trail in the second half of any of their four wins.
Syracuse led 6-4 at halftime and 8-4 after Brendan Loftus and Kenny Nims scored in nthe first 3:31 of the third quarter. Princeton fought back, closing to 9-6 after Jack McBride and Mark Kovler scored, and the Tigers, with time running out in the quarter, forced a turnover. Dan Cocoziello scooped up the loose ball and started upfield, but the Orange's Matt Abbott checked the ball from Cocoziello, fed on the crease to Stephen Keough and watched as Keough went behind the back to beat Alex Hewith with eight seconds remaining in the third. Instead of a three-goal game heading into the fourth, Princeton found itself down four again.
Syracuse scored the only three goals of the fourth quarter. Brooks finished with a career-high six points on three goals and three assists, while fellow midfielder Loftus had three goals and one assist.
Princeton struggled with possession all day, as Syracuse face-off man Danny Brennan, the Division I leader, won 15 of 21. Syracuse outshot Princeton 41-23 and doubled Princeton in ground balls at 40-20.
McBride was the only Princeton player with more than one goal, as he had his second straight two-goal day. In addition to Kovler, Bob Schneider, Rich Sgalardi and Tommy Davis had one each for the Tigers.
Syracuse improved to 5-2 at the Carrier Dome all-time against Princeton. The five Syracuse wins have come by a total of 29 goals, while the two Princeton wins have been by one goal each.
Princeton is 1-0 in the Ivy League and hosts Penn before traveling to Harvard next weekend.