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Return to Glory
Armed with renewed focus after a 5-8 record in 2007 that saw the Orange miss the postseason for the first time since 1982, SU head coach John Desko engineered one of the most remarkable turnarounds in lacrosse history in 2008. Syracuse rebounded to win its NCAA-record 10th national championship with an overall record of 16-2. The Orange knocked off archrival Johns Hopkins, 13-10, on Memorial Day to claim the crown and re-take its place at the top of the college lacrosse world. Along the way, Syracuse was recognized with some of the most prestigious awards presented by the lacrosse community. Desko earned USILA Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career. Senior attackman Mike Leveille won the Tewaaraton Trophy as the national player of the year and was named the NCAA Championship’s Most Outstanding Player. Senior Steven Brooks won the Lt. Donald C. MacLaughlin Jr. Award as the nation’s top midfielder, and eight Orange, including first-teamers Leveille and Brooks, were rewarded with USILA All-America honors.
The Orange’s renaissance centered around its excellence in three phases of the game: offense, defense and faceoffs. The SU offensive attack clicked immediately as the Orange scored 10 goals in the first period of a 21-6, season-opening win against Villanova on Feb. 17 at the Carrier Dome. The performance was an early indicator of what was to come as Syracuse finished second nationally in goals per game (13.6) and scored at least 10 goals in 16 of its 18 contests. The Orange boasted seven 20-goal scorers, including Leveille, who led the way with 49. He also paced the team in scoring with 83 total points.
The defense, under first-year coordinator Lelan Rogers, posted a 7.62 goals-against average, the best mark for an SU squad since 1970. Syracuse held 13 of 18 foes to fewer than 10 goals and five opponents to five goals or less.
The unit was a mix of grizzled veterans and talented newcomers. Senior captains Evan Brady, Kyle Guadagnolo, and junior college transfer Sid Smith made up the close defense. Freshman goalie John Galloway emerged as the team’s starter between the pipes in the preseason, and the transformation of rookie Joel White from an offensive star in high school to one of the top long-stick midfielders in the college game paid dividends all year long.
In addition, Desko’s club benefitted from having the best faceoff man in country in senior Danny Brennan. He led the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.667) and was critical to either continuing SU scoring runs or stopping opponent scoring streaks with his ability to gain possessions.
THE REGULAR SEASON
Following its season-opening win against the Wildcats, the Orange recorded a one-goal triumph versus Army to set the stage for its first big showdown of the season – a matchup with Virginia at the Konica-Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. Though the Orange succumbed to the Cavaliers in overtime, 14-13, midfielder Dan Hardy said later that its showing against the Cavaliers made the team believe “it could again play with the big boys.”
Back-to-back overtime wins against Georgetown and Johns Hopkins proved to everyone that indeed the Orange was back, and the victories sparked a 10-game winning streak that saw Syracuse outscore its foes by almost seven goals a game (13.48 to 6.64). It was the Orange’s longest winning streak in more than a decade and the team attained the top spot in the USILA Coaches' Poll on March 31, 2008 for the first time during the regular season since early in the 2003 campaign.
In the process, the Orange avengened 2007 losses to Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Princeton, Cornell and Massachusetts. Syracuse’s 16-3 thrashing of the Minutemen in its regular-season home finale on April 26 was especially sweet. The Minutemen eliminated the Orange from the playoff picture the previous season with a 9-7 win at Garber Field.
Syracuse’s momentum was briefly halted in the regular-season finale at Colgate on May 3. The Orange lost its second one-goal game of the year, 12-11, but Desko’s club proved enough to the NCAA selection committee during the year to be awarded the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
THE POSTSEASON
With a 25th trip to the national semifinals within its grasp, Syracuse steamrolled Canisius in the first round of the tournament, 20-3. The victory capped a perfect home season for the Orange. Syracuse went 9-0 at the Carrier Dome, including an 8-0 home record in the regular season.
The following week against Notre Dame, the Orange withstood a furious third-quarter rally and overcame a goaltender (Joey Kemp) at the top of his game to post an 11-9 decision against the Fighting Irish to advance to championship weekend in Foxboro, Mass.
The national semifinals featured a pair of rematches. The Orange faced second-seeded Virginia and top-seeded Duke squared off with Johns Hopkins. Syracuse and Virginia took the field first and staged one of the most dramatic semifinal games in recent memory. Down 9-4 in the third quarter, the Orange rallied to tie the game at 11 and force overtime. Neither team recorded the clincher in the first four-minute extra session, but the period certainly didn’t lack drama. Virginia hit the post three times and Cavaliers’ goalie Bud Petit made a pair of doorstep saves to preserve the deadlock. It wasn’t until Leveille took the game on his shoulders, faking right, then left, then right again and sticking the game-winner with 1:43 left in the second overtime that the crowd of more than 48,000 at Gillette Stadium finally exhaled.
Unsung middie Matt Abbott played a key role in the comeback, notching his first career hat trick, and clearing the ball several times on his own to secure valuable possessions. Leveille played maybe his best game of the year with the Orange’s season hanging in the balance. Four of his five goals came in the second half or overtime and he tied the game with three minutes left in regulation before unleashing a low drive that found the mark as he was being knocked to the ground to win it.
After Syracuse avenged its regular-season loss to Virginia, it was up to Johns Hopkins to do the same in order to set up the ultimate lacrosse rubber match. The Blue Jays obliged, holding on for a 10-9 win against Duke, a team that boasted the most productive offense in NCAA history and had thumped Johns Hopkins, 17-6, in the regular season.
The championship game was filled with history and dripped with irony. The two teams entered the contest with nine NCAA titles apiece and as the two winningest lacrosse programs in Division I. In addition, Syracuse looked to become just the second team in NCAA history to win the championship after the missing the playoffs the previous year. The only other team to do it was the 1983 Orange squad, which was on hand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its championship. The 1983 team featured a goalie by the name of Tom Nims. His son, Kenny Nims, was part of SU’s 2008 starting attack. The Orange’s championship game opponent in 1983: Johns Hopkins.
The similarities were everywhere, but unlike the 1983 team, the 2008 edition of the Orange didn’t need a miraculous second-half comeback to win the title. Syracuse trailed early on, but its offensive depth proved too much for the Blue Jays to handle. With Leveille (one goal, two assists) bottled up for most of the day, Desko turned to his midfielders to provide the offensive punch and they responded by scoring eight of team’s 13 goals. Hardy led the way with three goals. Senior Brendan Loftus and Nims each had two.
Johns Hopkins star Paul Rabil did all he could to keep the Blue Jays in it, scoring six times, but Syracuse couldn’t be denied. As the clock wound down, Leveille flung the ball high in the air and the Orange stormed the field to celebrate its triumph. The moment was the culmination of a journey that started as soon as the curtain fell on the 2007 season. The charge was to return Syracuse to its former glory.
Mission accomplished.
