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Syracuse University
#5 Princeton
National Champions!!!
5/27/2002 3:33:55 PM | Men's Lacrosse
All-American attackman Michael Powell (Carthage, N.Y.) scored a game-high seven points (four goals, three assists) to lead Syracuse to a 13-12 victory against Princeton in the 2002 NCAA Championship game. It was SU's fourth-straight one-goal win and seventh victory in a row to close out the season. Powell was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Syracuse now owns eight NCAA men's lacrosse titles. The Orangemen last won the gold in 2000.
Princeton (10-5) jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind goals by Sean Hartofilis and Mark Pellegrino.
Freshman midfielder Jarett Park (Tully, N.Y.) put Syracuse on the board first at the 10:56 mark of the first quarter. He scooped up a rebound in front of the Princeton net and fired a shot past PU goaltender Julian Gould.
Powell tied the game at 2-2 when he punched in a shot from the left side of the crease that was delivered to him from senior Spencer Wright (San Diego, Calif.). The Orangemen used terrific ball movement to come up with their second goal at the 8:08 mark of the first period.
Princeton tallied three more goals in the first quarter to take a 5-4 lead. Seniors Josh Coffman (Carthage, N.Y.) and Brian Solliday (Bethpage, N.Y.) netted goals for SU before the first 15 minutes ran out.
The Orangemen came out strong in the second quarter by recording the first three goals of the stanza. Senior Tom Hardy (Tully, N.Y.) registered his 15th goal of the season at the 11:24 mark. Then sophomore Sean Lindsay (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) found the back of the net with an unassisted outside shot at the 10:43 mark. Just a little more than three minutes later, junior Michael Springer (Ridgewood, N.J.) fired a rocket of a shot off an extra-man feed from sophomore Brian Nee (Cockeysville, Md.). SU took a 7-5 lead at the 7:08 mark.
Pellegrino scored his second goal of the game to pull the Tigers within 7-6 with 5:13 in the second quarter. Powell found a cutting Solliday for SU's eighth tally with 3:25 remaining in the half. Syracuse led, 8-6.
Powell registered two goals and an assist in the third quarter. His second goal of the period came off a feed from Solliday and gave the Orangemen their largest lead of the game at 12-7 with 10:24 left.
Princeton mounted a comeback with the game's next four goals, two by Hartofilis and one apiece from B.J. Prager and Brad Dumont. Dumont's goal at the 13:21 mark of the fourth quarter pulled the Tigers to within one goal (12-11).
Springer skipped a pass over to Powell who wound up and unleashed a blast from about 15 yards out for SU's final goal of the afternoon. It gave SU a 13-11 advantage.
Dumont continued to give his Tigers hope as he recorded Princeton's final goal with 11:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.
SU goaltender Jay Pfeifer (Towson, Md.) finished with 13 saves. He completed his first career NCAA Tournament with a total of 46 saves in three playoff games. He won a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Joining Pfeifer on the all-tournament team were: Tom Hardy, Mike Powell, Solomon Bliss and John Glatzel.
Powell was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In three playoff games this season, he totaled 14 points (six goals, eight assists).
The Orangemen posted a 15-2 record this season. It was their fourth-straight trip to the national finals under fourth-year head coach John Desko.
"I attribute our wins during this tournament to our seniors," said SU head coach John Desko. "We're very excited that this has happened. It means a lot to us. It's certainly going to make for a nice summer."
SYRACUSE 13, PRINCETON 12
Scoring by quarters:
SU 4-4-4-1=13
PU 5-1-4-2=12
Syracuse Goals: Powell 4, Solliday 3, Coffman 2, Park 1, Hardy 1, Lindsay 1, Springer 1.
Syracuse Assists: Powell 3, Wright 1, Smith 1, Nee 1, Coffman 1, Solliday 1, Springer 1.
Princeton Goals: Sean Hartofilis 3, Mark Pellegrino 2, Ryan Boyle 2, Brad Dumont 2, Josh White 1, Matt Trevenen 1, B.J. Prager 1.
Princeton Assists: Josh White 2, Dan Clark 1, Brad Dumont 1, B.J. Prager 1.
Shots: SU 40, PU 36
Saves: Jay Pfeifer (SU) 13, Julian Gould (PU) 13
Faceoffs: SU 17-29, PU 12-29
Groundballs: SU 51, PU 45
Clears: SU 20-23, PU 14-19
EMO: SU 1-2, PU 0-2
Penalties: PU 2/1:00, SU 2/1:30
Attendance: 19,706
