Syracuse University
Denver
Men's Lacrosse Survives Scare From Denver, 13-10
3/10/2002 9:43:54 PM | Men's Lacrosse
With the score tied 9-9 with 6:30 remaining in the game, Syracuse sophomore attackman Michael Powell (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) saved a long clearing pass near the left sideline, sprinted to the cage and unleashed a shot from 20 yards out which found the upper right corner of the Denver net. The goal gave the top-ranked Orangemen a lead they would never relinquish. Syracuse went on to defeat Denver, 13-10, winning the 2002 Pioneer Men's Lacrosse Face-Off Classic. Powell earned MVP honors.
"I was very nervous because Denver is a good program and they were playing on their home field," said Powell. "It was not a position we wanted to be in."
Syracuse (4-0) clung to a 6-5 edge at halftime. Denver scored the game's first goal and then led, 2-1, when Erik Swanson scored off a pass from Darren Sasaki-Scanlon at 10:21 of the first quarter. It would be the Pioneer's only lead of the contest.
SU's starting attack which includes Powell, senior Josh Coffman (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) and junior Michael Springer (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) were responsible for all five of the Orangemen's goals in the opening quarter. Coffman and Springer tallied twice and Powell had a goal and an assist to help SU to a 5-3 lead after the first 15 minutes of action.
Denver's Matt Brown scored three of his team-high four goals in the first half. He registered two within the final four minutes of the half to pull his Pioneers to within one (6-5) at intermission.
The Orangemen were unable to extend their lead past two goals in the third quarter. Coffman connected off a feed from Powell at the 5:31 mark which gave SU a 7-5 edge. Swanson netted his second goal a little more than a minute later which pulled Denver back to within one (7-6), but senior midfielder Spencer Wright (San Diego, Calif./Junipero Serra) punched in a man-up goal from just outside the crease off a feed from Springer with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter. The score was 8-6 in favor of Syracuse at the end of the third quarter.
Springer was the first to find the back of the net in the fourth quarter. His fourth goal of the game came at the 10:57 mark and put the Orangemen ahead by three, 9-6. Denver mounted a furious comeback with three goals in a little more than a minute. Jeff Biggs started the rally. Mike Kenlay scored on a Denver man-up situation and Brown intercepted an errant pass by SU goalie Jay Pfeifer (Towson, Md./Gilman) right on the doorstep and fired it into the cage at the 7:02 mark to tie the contest at 9-9.
That is when Powell stepped up. After his outside shot put the Orangemen ahead, 10-9, senior midfielder Tom Hardy (Tully, N.Y./Tully) gave a two-goal cushion with his shot from the right side off a feed from linemate Sean Lindsay. Biggs registered Denver's final goal at the 4:22 mark to pull within one (11-10), but the Orangemen had a pretty fast break capped off by Powell at 3:37. Coffman drove from the left side off a restart with 1:15 remaining to seal the win.
Pfeifer finished with 11 saves for Syracuse, while Jeff Nunziato stopped 13 shots for Denver.
Joining Powell on the Pioneer Classic All-Tournament team from Syracuse were Coffman and senior defenseman John Glatzel (Ellicott City, Md./Boys' Latin).
Syracuse has two more road games during its current five-game road swing. The Orangemen travel to Baltimore to face No. 2-ranked Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 16 at historic Homewood Field.
Denver is now 3-2 on the season.
#1 SYRACUSE 13, DENVER 10
Scoring by quarters:
Syracuse 5-1-2-5=13
Denver 3-2-1-4=10
Syracuse Goals: Josh Coffman 4, Michael Springer 4, Michael Powell 3, Spencer Wright 1, Tom Hardy 1.
Syracuse Assists: Michael Powell 3, Brian Nee 2, Michael Springer 1, Sean Lindsay 1.
Denver Goals: Matt Brown 4, Jeff Biggs 3, Erik Swanson 2, Mike Kenlay 1.
Denver Assists: Jeff Biggs 2, Eric Swanson 1, Darren Sasaki-Scanlon 1, Mike Kenlay 1, Ryan Marshall 1, Chad Wittman 1.
Shots: Syracuse 37, Denver 31
Groundballs: Syracuse 34, Denver 28
Clears: Syracuse 18/21, Denver 13/20
Extra-Man: Syracuse 1-4, Denver 1-7
Saves: Jay Pfeifer (SU) 11, Jeff Nunziato 13
Faceoffs: Syracuse 13/26, Denver 13/26
Penalties: Syracuse 7/6:30, Denver 4/3:00
