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Syracuse University
#9 Duke
Men's Lacrosse Advances to its 20th Consecutive Final Four
5/18/2002 3:48:33 PM | Men's Lacrosse
With less than a minute remaining and Syracuse clinging to a 10-9 lead at Hofstra Stadium, senior defenseman John Glatzel (Ellicott City, Md.) checked the ball out of Duke midfielder Dan Chemotti's stick before the senior Blue Devil was able to get his game-tying shot off. The slick defensive play preserved SU's 10-9 quarterfinal victory against Duke and advanced the Orangemen to their 20th consecutive NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship weekend next Saturday, May 25, at Rutgers University.
The only other NCAA Division I athletics program that can boast a streak of 20-straight final four appearances is the North Carolina women's soccer team.
Syracuse will bring its five-game winning streak and 13-2 record to Rutgers Stadium. The Orangemen will play either Cornell or Virginia in the second national semifinal contest on Saturday, May 25. The first semifinal game is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., while the second semifinal is slated to begin 45 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.
ESPN2 will broadcast both semifinal games. ESPN will televise the national championship match at 11 a.m. on Memorial Day.
Syracuse made it two decades worth of quarterfinal wins with a stellar defensive scheme against Duke. Red-shirt freshman goaltender Jay Pfeifer (Towson, Md.) was superb in his first collegiate playoff game. In the first half, he wandered up field on an SU clearing attempt. When no one from Duke picked him up, he charged for the goal and fired a shot that nearly went in, but ricocheted off the right post. At the start of the fourth quarter, Duke had a breakaway opportunity that would have pulled the Blue Devils to within 9-7 of the Orangemen. Pfeifer was up at the 20-yard line when Duke's Matt Rewkowski gained control of the ball and was about to make his move on an empty Syracuse net. Pfeifer sprinted to get back in position and just as Rewkowski cocked his stick back to shoot, Pfeifer dove and laid his body out to make the save. The shot hit his stick and sailed wide of the goal.
Offensively, the Orangemen were led by sophomore attackman Michael Powell (Carthage, N.Y.) who was the game's high scorer with four assists. Josh Coffman (Carthage, N.Y.), Michael Springer (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Spencer Wright (San Diego, Calif./Junipero Serra) each tallied two goals. Tom Hardy, Steve Vallone, Brian Solliday and Brian Nee also registered goals for the Orangemen.
Duke owned a dominating advantage in faceoffs during the entire game, winning 20 of 23 draws.
Pfeifer finished with 14 saves. A.J. Kincel stopped nine Syracuse shots.
Duke finished its season with an 8-7 record.
Syracuse 10, Duke 9
Scoring by quarters:
SU 5-1-3-1=10
DU 2-2-2-3=9
Syracuse Goals: Coffman 2, Springer 2, Wright 2, Hardy 1, Nee 1, Solliday 1, Vallone 1.
Syracuse Assists: Powell 4, Nee 1, Smith 1.
Duke Goals: Monfett 2, Rewkowski 2, Brennan 1, Cassese 1, Chemotti 1, Lieske 1, Regan 1.
Duke Assists: Brennan 1, Cassese 1, Chemotti 1.
Shots: Duke 40, SU 38
Penalties: SU 5/5:00, Duke 6/5:00
Faceoffs: Duke 20/23, SU 3/23
Clears: SU 19-23, Duke 13-19
Saves: Jay Pfeifer (SU) 14, A.J. Kincel (Duke) 9
Groundballs: SU 20, Duke 47
