Syracuse University
Rutgers
Home Stretch Begins Sunday At Rutgers
4/16/2010 11:33:07 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 2 Syracuse (9-1, 2-0) returns to BIG EAST play on Sunday, April 18 with a 6 p.m. clash against Rutgers (5-5, 1-1) at Yurcak Field. It's the first of four straight conference games for the Orange to close the regular season. Syracuse has won seven in a row, including an electrifying 8-7 triumph at Cornell Tuesday. Rutgers was also in action Tuesday, losing at Princeton, 10-8.
Sunday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU. Fans can also hear the action live on the radio home of the Orange - TK 99 (99.5 FM). Live streaming audio of the radio broadcast is available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All-Access.
THOMPSON CRACKS SEASON TOP 10 IN FACEOFF WINNING PERCENTAGE
Junior Jeremy Thompson is currently sixth on the Orange's season record list for faceoff winning percentage (min. 100 attempts). He is 65-for-101 (.644) at the faceoff X this year and he's won better than 50 percent of his attempts in every game this season. Chris Cercy set the school season record in 2000, winning slightly better than 71 percent of his draws. Cercy is the only player in Syracuse history to finish with a season mark higher than 70 percent.
GALLOWAY JOINS 40-WIN CLUB
Junior goalie John Galloway became the 15th Division I goalie in NCAA history to win 40 games on April 13 at Cornell. Galloway is 40-5 since 2008. He's currently tied with Mike Federico (Johns Hopkins), Matt Palumb (Syracuse), Joey Kemp (Notre Dame) and Brian Carcaterra (Johns Hopkins) for 11th on the Division I career wins list. Galloway's 40 career victories are the most of any active Division I netminder. Princeton's Scott Bacigalupo is the all-time leader with 51 wins for the Tigers from 1991-94.
SYRACUSE VERSUS THE BIG EAST
Syracuse is 61-12 all-time against the other six members of the BIG EAST, including a 27-5 record under head coach John Desko. Syracuse is 15-4 against Georgetown; 3-0 versus Notre Dame; 1-0 against Providence; 37-8 versus Rutgers; 2-0 versus St. John's and 3-0 against Villanova. The Orange has won 12 in a row against current BIG EAST teams since losing to Georgetown (10-8) in 2006. Syracuse notched a 15-12 win over the Hoyas earlier this season in its inaugural BIG EAST Conference game. It also drubbed Villanova, 20-6.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers began the year 5-2, but has hit a rough patch lately. The Scarlet Knights have dropped their last three decisions to fall to 5-5 overall. Rutgers hasn't won in the month of April. The last victory for head coach Jim Stagnitta and his team was on March 27 when the Scarlet Knights defeated Notre Dame (10-8) in its BIG EAST Conference opener.
Senior midfielder Justin Pennington is the engine that drives the Scarlet Knights. A preseason All-BIG EAST performer, Pennington leads Rutgers in goals (20), assists (12) and points (32). He also lists third on the club with 25 ground balls. Attackman Kory Kelly and midfielder Gerhard Buehning are tied for second on the squad with 19 goals. No other Rutgers player has more than nine goals.
Jacob Fradkin is the only Rutgers defender to start every game. He has 20 ground balls and leads the Scarlet Knights with 16 caused turnovers. Against Princeton, senior Sean Hover and junior Brian Shemesh joined Fradkin in the starting lineup. Goalies Rudy Butler and Billy Olin have shared time in the cage this season. Butler has seven appearances with six starts. He's made 37 saves and owns an 8.08 goals-against average. Olin has played in six contests, starting four. He has 28 saves and a 9.72 goals-against average. Olin was between the pipes for all 60 minutes Tuesday at Princeton.
THE SYRACUSE-RUTGERS SERIES
Syracuse and Rutgers have played at least once every season since 1979. The Orange owns a dominating 37-8 lead in the series thanks in large part to a 20-game series winning streak from 1956 to 1995. Overall, the Orange is 14-6 in road games against the Scarlet Knights. The Orange has won the last five games in the series and has defeated Rutgers by an aggregate score of 79-39 in those five contests.
