SU-Duke Meet In Clash Of NCAA Champs

Konica Minolta Big City Classic - #1 Syracuse (7-0) vs. #3 Duke (8-2)
Event Details	Sunday, April 3 \| E. Rutherford, N.J. \| New Meadowlands Stadium Tickets/Information \| Weather
Schedule	St. John's vs. Rutgers - 1 p.m. Johns Hopkins vs. North Carolina - 4 p.m. Syracuse vs. Duke - 6:30 p.m.
Game Coverage	TV: ESPNU \| Radio: WTKW 99.5 FM Orange All Access: Audio \| Live Stats \| Video: ESPN3.com Twitter: @suorangeempire
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Guide \| Notes
Duke Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Guide \| Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Two top-five teams clash when No. 1 Syracuse (7-0) faces No. 3 Duke (8-2) in the nightcap of the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 3 at New Meadowlands Stadium. The contest marks the first time since 1992 the Orange and Blue Devils will meet in the regular season. The two teams have combined to win the last three national championships. Syracuse brought home the championship trophy in 2008 and 2009. Duke won its first NCAA title last season.

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 is available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All-Access. Live streaming video can be found on ESPN3.com.

ABOUT THE BIG CITY CLASSIC
This is the third year of the Konica Minolta Big City Classic, an event organized by Inside Lacrosse. This year's edition features three games. Rutgers versus St. John's starts things off at 1 p.m., followed by Johns Hopkins-North Carolina at 4 p.m. and Syracuse-Duke at 6:30 p.m.

The Orange has taken part in the Big City Classic since its inception in 2009. At the inaugural event, held at Giants Stadium, Princeton posted a 12-8 decision over the Orange. Syracuse rebounded to defeat the Tigers, 13-4, in the 2010 Big City Classic at New Meadowlands Stadium. Last year's tripleheader set the NCAA all-time attendance record for a lacrosse-only event (25,710).

THE BIGGER, THE BETTER
Sunday's game against Duke is the second of three games Syracuse will play in NFL venues this regular season. Syracuse knocked off Georgetown in overtime, 9-8, at the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on March 12. Later this year, the Orange will take on BIG EAST opponent Providence in the New England Lacrosse Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

STARTING STRONG
Syracuse is seeking its first 8-0 start since the 1990 season when it posted a perfect 13-0 record and dominated opponents on its way to the NCAA Championship. Currently, Syracuse stands at 7-0 for the first time since the 2000 national championship season.

GALLOWAY CAN SET NCAA WINS RECORD
Senior goalie John Galloway is on the brink of setting a new NCAA Division I career wins record. Galloway needs one more victory to eclipse the current record of 51 he shares with Princeton's Scott Bacigalupo (1991-94). Galloway owns a 51-6 overall record in 57 starts.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO
At 7-0, Syracuse is one of only two undefeated teams remaining in Division I lacrosse. The other is BIG EAST rival Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish (6-0) host Villanova April 2.

AGAINST THE DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS
Syracuse has played the defending NCAA champion either in the regular season or NCAA Tournament (sometimes both) a total of 21 times. The Orange is 12-9 in those games. The last time the Orange faced a reigning NCAA champion was in 2008 when it defeated 2007 title-winner Johns Hopkins twice (14-13 in the regular season and 13-10 in the NCAA championship game).

FIVE IS ENOUGH
Syracuse posted back-to-back 5-4 decisions against Johns Hopkins and Villanova on March 19 and March 26, respectively, marking the first time since 1931 the Orange won two games in the same season when scoring five goals or less. It also represented the first time since 1925 the Orange won consecutive games when scoring five or fewer goals. In 1925, SU defeated NYU (3-0) and Lehigh (4-2) in consecutive outings.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
After a 1-2 start, Duke has won seven in a row to move up to No. 3 in the national rankings. The Blue Devils are 8-2 and have already topped two of their three ACC rivals, beating Maryland and North Carolina. They enter Sunday's game with a scoring margin of + 4.4, averaging 12.9 goals per contest and allowing 8.5.

Senior attackman Zach Howell is the team's best finisher. Howell has 116 career goals and leads the Blue Devils in goals (25) and points (33) this season. Freshman Jordan Wolf is a budding star. He's been Duke's best feeder (10 assists) and ranks second on the team to Howell in points (28). Redshirt junior Justin Turri (10g, 8a) is Duke's top threat from the midfield.

Defensively, goalie Dan Wigrizer anchors a unit that is allowing less than nine goals per game. He has 90 saves and a .570 percentage. Senior Tom Montelli and junior CJ Costabile are Duke's two most dynamic defenders. Montelli leads the Blue Devils with 10 caused turnovers. Costabile, who scored the winning goal in last year's NCAA title game, leads the Blue Devils with 50 ground balls from his LSM position. He's also Duke's primary faceoff specialist (.520, 52-100).

Head coach John Danowski is in his fifth season at Duke. He ranks fourth on NCAA Division I career wins list with 293 victories. Overall, Danowski is 293-154, including a 74-15 record since taking over the Blue Devils in 2007. He's guided the team to two NCAA championship game appearances (2007, 2010) and brought home the program's first national championship last season.

THE SERIES WITH DUKE
Syracuse has won five of the six all-time meetings with the Blue Devils, including the last four. The Orange's only loss in the series was back in 1978. The last three pairings have occurred in the NCAA playoffs, including a dominating 17-7 Orange victory in the 2009 NCAA semifinals at Gillette Stadium. The last time the Orange and Blue Devils squared off in the regular season was in 1992 at the Fleet Lacrosse Invitational in Providence, R.I. Syracuse emerged victorious in that game as well, 15-12.

UP NEXT
The Orange concludes a three-game road trip with a 4 p.m. contest at Princeton on Saturday, April 9. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.

Syracuse University Athletics

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