Men's Lacrosse Scores Season-High 17 Goals in Win Against Rutgers

Saturday, April 16

Syracuse, NY

4 p.m.

Syracuse University

Rutgers

Junior attackman/midfielder Brian Crockett

Men's Lacrosse Scores Season-High 17 Goals in Win Against Rutgers

4/16/2005 7:05:05 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Boxscore

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Freshman Mike Leveille and junior Brian Crockett combined for nine goals as sixth-ranked Syracuse (6-4) ended a two-game losing streak to Rutgers (4-6) with a 17-6 victory in men’s lacrosse action on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

Leveille and Crockett got the Orange off to a fast start, scoring four of SU’s six first-quarter goals in a span of four and a half minutes. Steve Panarelli opened the scoring at the 10:30 mark of the first quarter, followed by a goal less then a minute later from Crockett. Greg Rommel also scored for the Orange, which outshot Rutgers 17-7 in the opening stanza. Rutgers goalie Greg Havalchak made two saves. The Scarlet Knights were able to control play in their offensive end of the field over the final six minutes of the quarter, taking five of their seven shots during that time.

After Devon Britts scored off a feed from Leif Blomquist four minutes into the second quarter, Syracuse scored on three consecutive shots to open a 10-1 lead. Unassisted tallies from John Flanagan and Sean Battoni cut the nine-goal deficit to seven (10-3). RU and Syracuse traded goals over the final six minutes of the first half, with the Scarlet Knights’ tallies coming from junior John Manners in an extra-man opportunity and sophomore Colin Checcio.

Battoni’s second goal of the game came with 8:05 left in the third period, as he took a pass from Austin Rodgers and beat SU goalie Jay Pfeifer. The six goal deficit, however, was as close as Rutgers would get.

Freshmen Lyle Farrar and Jake Myers saw their first collegiate action. Farrar relieved Havalchak for the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter, while Myers spelled Pfeifer with 5:36 remaining.

Syracuse outshot Rutgers 49-29 for the game, the most shots Rutgers has allowed this season.

Leveille finished with four goals and an assist. It was his second-straight four-goal game and marked his fifth hat trick of the season. Crockett, playing with SU's first midfield unit for the first time this year, finished with a season-high five goals.

Pfeifer stopped 10 Rutgers shots and moved ahead of Tom Nims (1981-85) into second place on Syracuse's all-time saves list. His 695 career saves are now second to only Jamie Molloy's (1977-80) school-record 766. Pfeifer needs 72 more saves over the course of SU's final two regular-season games and the playoffs in order to break the record.

The Orange plays its next game at home again, against No. 13-ranked Albany on Friday, April 22, at 7 p.m.