Syracuse University
Loyola
Men's Lacrosse Defeats Loyola, 12-6, for Fourth-Straight Win
4/9/2005 3:34:15 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BALTIMORE -- Freshman attackman Mike Leveille (Delmar, N.Y.) scored three goals in the game's first nine minutes to help No. 7-ranked Syracuse to a 12-6 victory at Loyola. It was the fourth consecutive win for the Orange, who improved to 5-3 on the season. Leveille finished with three goals and an assist. It was his third hat trick of the season.
Leveille's first goal came at 10:39 of the first quarter. Junior attackman Brett Bucktooth (Onondaga Nation, N.Y.) scooped up a groundball and dished off to Leveille for the score. The rookie made it 2-0 with a dive across the crease at 7:25. A teammate's rebound found his stick for SU's third goal with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter. The Orange took a 5-0 lead by the time the period expired with two more goals by senior midfielder Jarett Park (Otisco, N.Y.) and junior attackman Brian Crockett (Yorktown, N.Y.). Park's goal was a low shot off a pass from freshman attackman/midfielder Greg Niewieroski (Watertown, N.Y.) at the 3:02 mark. Crockett drove and scored with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.
Loyola (4-4) got on the scoreboard after a Shane Koppens goal at 12:27 of the second quarter. The Greyhounds, who turned the ball over a total of 30 times, including nine times in the second quarter, did not score again until 7:48 of the third period. The Syracuse defense picked up loose balls after successful checks or when Loyola threw an errant pass. Senior defensive midfielder Andrew Boyle (Columbus, Ohio) scored a career-high two goals and had an assist on the Orange's next three goals. Boyle found his way to the offensive end thanks to a couple of transition opportunities. The former high school attackman scored with 1:23 remaining in the first half and then off a feed from Park with three seconds left on the clock. The Orange led at halftime, 7-1.
Boyle set up Crockett's second goal at 13:51 of the third quarter to give Syracuse an 8-1 advantage. Sophomore midfielder Steven Brooks (Libertyville, Ill.) scored off an isolated drive to the cage with a left-handed shot a little more than a minute later to give SU its largest lead of the afternoon, 9-1.
The Orange would go on to hold two more eight-goal leads during the game. After Loyola cut it to 9-3 midway through the third quarter with goals by Dan Bauers and Matt Monfett, SU responded with goals by junior midfielders Greg Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Joe D'Arrigo (Syracuse, N.Y.) to push it back to an eight-goal margin (11-3) at the end of the third quarter.
The Greyhounds outshot Syracuse, 11-7, in the fourth quarter and found the back of the net three times. SU goaltender Jay Pfeifer (Towson, Md.) stopped four of his game-high 11 saves during the final 15 minutes of play. Koppens netted his second goal of the game for Loyola at the 6:30 mark, but SU went back up by eight (12-4) after a Niewieroski man-up tally just 28 seconds later. Bauers and Andrew Spack closed out the scoring for the Greyhounds. Bauers' goal was unassisted and Spack scored right off a face-off win with 3:48 remaining in the contest.
The Orange has little time to enjoy the win. On Tues., April 12, SU plays host to No. 9-ranked Cornell, at 7 p.m.
