A Familiar End for No. 4 Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse, Fall 10-8 to No. 1 Maryland in NCAA Semi-final

Story & Photo by Robin Deehan

CHESTER, PA. – The top-ranked Maryland women’s lacrosse team will get a chance to defend its 2014 national title after handing No. 4 Syracuse a 10-8 loss Friday night at PPL Park in the NCAA semi-finals.

“We are really excited to have the chance to compete for a national championship on Sunday night, also we congratulate Syracuse on a great game and a great season,” Maryland head coach Cathy Reese said. “...I’m just proud of our team’s effort today and looking forward to the opportunity that awaits us.”

It was a familiar ending for the Orange women as they saw their title dreams dashed by the Terrapins for the second consecutive year, last year Maryland beat Syracuse 15-12 in the championship game.

“Tough game,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “It seems like it’s always Maryland.”

First Half: Syracuse Holds On

Taylor Cummings got the Terrapins rolling, dishing out two assists and scoring once to give Maryland a 3-0 lead in less than six minutes of play.

Syracuse answered with back-to-back goals from Halle Majorana and Kayla Treanor to cut the Maryland lead, but Cummings set up a Brooke Griffin goal to make the score 4-2 halfway through the first half.

At the 10:56 mark, Taylor Gait scored off a feed from Treanor to bring the Orange to within one and Majorana followed suit with the equalizer.

Less than a minute after Majorana evened the game at four, Gait scored unassisted to give the Orange its first and only lead of the game.

The Orange women’s lead lasted all of 51 seconds before Zoe Stukenberg, Kelly McPartland and Cummings netted three unanswered goals to send Maryland into the locker room with a 7-5 lead.

“I think at that point it’s just we re-set,” Cummings said. “At that point, we’re down 5-4, our focus is the next draw.  After the draw, it was putting the ball in the back of the net and making it 5-5.  Once we got to 5-5, we knew it was 0-0 essentially, and we just pushed off from there and put our foot on the pedal.”

Second Half: Maryland Dominates Possession

The Orange came out with a spark in the second half, winning the draw and scoring within 53 seconds.

But Syracuse’s spark quickly burned out when Erin Collins, Lamon and Griffin scored three in a row to go up by four with less than 20 minutes to play.

“I think our offense just worked well together and moving off-ball so we just were able to find those opening and made them [the shots],” Lamon said.

Treanor halted the Terrapins run, scoring on a wrap around goal at 15:34.

After the teams traded turnovers, both Gait and Majorana had scoring chances but were stoned by Maryland keeper Alex Fitzpatrick.

Treanor finally found the back of the cage again with 7:18 left to play to bring the Orange to within two.

But on the ensuing draw, the Terrapins gained possession and went into a stall.

The Syracuse defense tried to double team to win the ball back, but two yellow cards forced the Orange to play two-women down.

“I think at the end of the game we knew we had to play with a sense of urgency,” Treanor said.

The Terrapins continued their game of keep away as time ran out and the Orange’s season came to an end.

Playmakers

Maryland outshot Syracuse 29-16 and won 14-of-20 draw controls.

“We came up a little bit short on draw controls,” Gary Gait said. “And I think that was the biggest difference in the game, it just comes down to making plays when you need them.”

Cummings finished with six points on two goals and four assists and Lamon, Stukenberg, and Griffin each finished with three points.

McPartland and Collins also chipped in with a goal apiece.

Maryland keeper Fitzpatrick finished with four saves, all coming in the second half.

Treanor finished with five points on three goals and two assists.

Gait and Majorana chipped in with a pair of goals each and Erica Bodt scored once for the Orange.

Kelsey Richardson finished with seven saves on the night.

Up Next

The Orange women end their 2015 campaign with a 17-7 record and an ACC Title.

The Terrapins will play No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday, May 25 at 8:30pm in the National Championship game at PPL Park.

North Carolina advanced to the title game after dismantling No. 3 Duke 16-7 in an earlier semi-final on Friday.

The Tar Heels, lead by Aly Messinger’s three goals and two assists, outshot the Blue Devils 34-19 and outscored them 9-2 in a strong second half.

Last Minute Effort Not Enough, Syracuse Loses 16-15 to Johns Hopkins in NCAA Quarterfinals

Story & Photo By Robin Deehan

ANNAPOLIS, MD. -- The No. 1 Syracuse men’s lacrosse team beat No. 10 Johns Hopkins in shots, ground balls and face-offs, but missed where it really mattered.

“We won the score,” Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala said with a smile. “We got the saves that we needed to keep them to 15 [goals] and if we’re not getting ground balls and we’re not winning face-offs, we needed to have possession.”

Despite a late game scoring surge, the Orange men saw their season cut short at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Sunday afternoon with a 16-15 loss to the Blue Jays in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

"My hat is off to the Blue Jays," Syracuse head coach John Desko said. "I thought they played an excellent game today.

"I'm proud of our guys for coming back the way they did. I think a lot of teams would have looked up at the scoreboard and said the game was over. There was 30 seconds to go or so and we still had a shot to tie it up. I thought we played with a lot of heart. That being said, we're obviously disappointed that we aren't playing next week."

First Half: The Orange Fights for the Lead

Wells Stanwick started scoring off early and often for the Blue Jays, netting three goals in the first ten minutes of play.

But Henry Schoonmaker, Nicky Galasso, and Randy Staats each chipped in with one for Syracuse to close out first quarter scoring with the teams tied at three.

The Blue Jays opened up the second quarter taking the lead right back on goals from Joel Tinney and John Crawley.

Dylan Donahue took matters into his own hands, scoring off a Kevin Rice feed,  then found Ryan Simmons on the next play to even the score back up at five.

The Orange and Blue Jays traded goals before Donahue netted his second of the game making it 7-6 and giving Syracuse its first lead of the day.

Unfortunately for the Orange, that was the only lead it had all day.

Second Half Surge: Too Little Too Late

Hopkins opened the second half with four straight goals and outscored the Orange five to one in the third quarter, including an impressive sprint and diving shot from Wells Stanwick as time ran out.

As the ball crossed the line the scoreboard showed the time at 00:00 but the goal stood and Stanwick’s fourth of the game put Hopkins up 11-8 with the final 15 minutes still to play.

Rice found the back of the cage for the first time all game in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter on a feed from Galasso.

But goals from Holden Cattoni, Cody Radziewicz and Wells' younger brother Shack Stanwick saw the Blue Jays extend their lead to five with just under four minutes to play.

Galasso and Staats scored 29 seconds apart, chipping away at the Hopkins lead, but Ryan Brown scored on an empty net with what looked like the final dagger in the Orange with under two minutes to play.

A suddenly relentless Syracuse attack wasn’t done yet.

Rice and Schoonmaker scored 22 seconds apart to bring the Orange to within two.

On the ensuing face-off, Hopkins was called for a violation resulting in an extra man opportunity for Syracuse.

The Orange exploited the man-up and with just 23 seconds left to play Rice netted his third to make it a one-goal game.

But it would be the last goal either team would score, as Syracuse face-off specialist Ben Williams lost the final, and most important one.

Syracuse jarred the ball loose and SU's Brandon Mullins picked it up with eight second left but the Orange couldn't get it downfield for a shot. As time expired the Blue Jays stormed the field to celebrate advancing to the NCAA Final Four at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 23.

“We just needed that urgency earlier in the game,” Rice said.

Stanwick, Stanwick & Schneider

Brothers Wells and Shack Stanwick finished with six points apiece on four goals and two assists for Johns Hopkins.

Goalie Eric Schneider was sensational between the pipes for the Blue Jays making 15 saves, preventing the Orange from finding their usual stride.

The Blue Jay defense frustrated Syracuse for much of the game and Hopkins capitalized on 12 Orange turnovers.

“Probably a couple more [turnovers] than what you would like to get in a game like this,” Desko said. “Disappointed, a game like this, we know it’s going to be tight.”

  

Orange Playmakers

Rice, Galasso, Donahue and Staats finished with three goals apiece for Syracuse.

“You know what, we talk about it all the time is about defending the knowns,” Pietramala said. “The knowns were Rice, Donahue, Galasso and Staats, three, three, three and three. I guess we didn’t do a good job of defending the knowns today.”

Rice also dished out four assists and Donahue and Galasso chipped in with two each.

Schoonmaker finished with a pair of goals and Simmons had one.

Williams put forth a valiant effort at the X winning 22 of 34 face-offs and goalkeeper Bobby Wardwell finished with a career high 16 saves.

 

Up Next

The Orange finished the 2015 campaign with an ACC title and a record of 13-3.

Johns Hopkins (11-6) will take on Maryland next weekend in Philadelphia; the other bracket includes Notre Dame and Denver.

The winners play in the NCAA National Championship game on Memorial Day.

21st Annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Series is Staked with Strength and Survivors

Story and photos by Lauren Winfrey

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -  More than 3,000 individuals and 100 teams participated in the

21^st Annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K run and walk series Saturday morning at the New York State Fairgrounds.

One of the largest race series in the world, the race helps to raise money and breast cancer awareness while celebrating those who have survived breast cancer, and honoring those who have lost their battle to the disease.

Breast cancer survivors at the 21st Annual
Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure series.

Joanne Basda was among those at the front of the Survivor’s Parade. Basda is a survivor of nine years, and was first diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 47.

“It was found in my yearly mammogram, and I thought it must be a mistake,” Basda said.

“I wasn’t sure what to do. I was scared, but I thought, ‘I’m going to take charge, and I’m going to do what I have to do’. When all was said and done, I had two biopsies—one in each breast—a lumpectomy in my right breast… emotionally, it’s devastating.”

Basda, of course, isn’t alone. According to the Susan G. Komen website one in eight women in America will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. At that rate, 13-million deaths from breast cancer around the world will occur in the next 25 years.

 

Young racer Samantha Staton came to the race in support of her aunt who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Although Staton said she looked forward to racing with her friends most, in a heartfelt message to her aunt she said:

“I really hope she gets better soon.”

18-year-old Sean Beney of Camillus was the first participant to finish the 5K run with a time of 17:17.

Racers and walkers can partake in the experience again next year when the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Series returns to the Fairgrounds.

21st Annual Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure Series -Photos

Photos by Lauren Winfrey 

Syracuse, N.Y. - The 21st annual Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure Series 5K run and walk took place Saturday morning at the New York State fairgrounds... click on any photo to start slideshow.

No. 1 Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Team Manhandles No. 20 Marist 20-8 to Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals

Story & Photo By Robin Deehan

SYRACUSE, N.Y. --It was a stormy Sunday night in Syracuse but that didn’t stop 2,555 fans from coming to the Carrier Dome to watch the No. 1 Syracuse men’s lacrosse team manhandle No. 20 Marist 20-6 in the first round of the 2015 NCAA tournament.

“First I want to congratulate Marist on their season," Syracuse head coach John Desko said.  "To win their conference and the first round of the play in games, I thought they did a great job.

"We watched them on film for most of the week and I thought they really put ten players out there and they were going to be all we could handle.  I’m happy we understood our matchups and who they were and we had a lot of respect for them and we got those ten goals in the first half and kept them down.  It was great to get started like that.”

The Orange (13-2) were lead by career high performances from both Kevin Rice and Jordan Evans to sail to an easy first round victory and end the Red Foxes (14-4) 2015 campaign.

"We have a lot to be proud of this year," Marist head coach Keegan Wilkinson said.  "We took the program to new heights."

A Ten-Goal Run

Marist quickly jumped out in front taking a 1-0 lead 1:43 into the game on a goal from Drew Nesmith.

But it was the only time the Red Foxes would find themselves on top all game as the Orange went on a ten-goal scoring run led by midfielder Evans' three goals in the opening 15 minutes.

After Hakeem Lecky knotted the game back at 1-1 at 11:02 in the first quarter, Randy Staats made a beautiful behind the back pass to Evans who was cutting down the middle to put the Orange ahead 2-1.

Less than a minute later, Henry Schoonmaker unleashed a shot from 12 yards out and the Orange never looked back.

Evans found the back of the cage again at 6:43 in the first quarter to give the Orange 4-1 lead.

On the next play, Marist keeper Dave Scarcello stoned a Nicky Galasso shot but on the clear Dylan Donahue intercepted the pass and found Staats for the easy score.

32 seconds later, a Kevin Rice shot rebounded out in front of the cage and Evans was there for clean up, scooping it up and slipping it past Scarcello to close out first quarter scoring at 6-1.

“I think my confidence is back and I think my teammates on the attack are looking for the middies all the time,” Evans said.  “We are just trying to fill in and slide and they [the attack] are finding us.”

The Orange would go on to score four more goals in the second quarter from Rice, Donahue and Tom Grimm to extend the score 10-1.

The Red Foxes finally found the back of the cage again with 5:36 to go before the half on a Dillon Walker goal.

Joe Radin followed up Walker with a goal of his own to close out first half scoring, 10-3.

Second Half Runaway

Marist opened up the second half scoring back-to-back goals from J.D. Recor and Radin to cut the Syracuse lead to five at 11:52 in the third quarter.

But the Orange answered Marist's four straight goals with four of their own from Donahue, Rice and Staats to put the Orange back up 14-5 with at 5:02.

Another Radin goal would make it 14-6, but the Orange attack was too much to handle as they scored another six unanswered goals, the final two coming from Evans just 61 seconds apart for the 19^th and 20^th team goals.

“I’ve been waiting for him [Evans] to break out so it’s perfect timing,” Desko said. “I think teams scouting us are going to have to pay a lot of attention to that second midfield group.”

Playmakers

The Orange outshot the Red Foxes 47 to 29, won face-offs 21 to 9 and picked up more than double the ground balls, 46 to 17.

Rice finished with a career high nine points on four goals and five assists and Evans, who had four goals all season, finished with five tallies.

Donahue also stepped up big with three goals and two assists while Staats recorded two goals and two assists and Lecky had two goals and one assist.

Galasso, Schoonmaker, Barber and Grimm each chipped in with one.

Face-off specialist Ben Williams won 15-of-22 face-offs including all eight in the first quarter. 

“When Ben gets on a roll it’s hard to stop him and for us we just need to make sure we put the ball in the net and take advantage of the opportunities that he gives us,” Rice said.

Cal Paduda stepped in for Williams late in the second half and went 6-for-8 at the X.

Orange keeper Bobby Wardwell recorded six saves.

Marist’s Joe Radin put up five points on four goals and one assist and J.D. Recor netted one and dished out three assists.

Scarcello made 14 stops for the Red Foxes.

Up Next

The Orange will head down to Annapolis, Maryland to play Johns Hopkins at Navy's Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Sunday May, 17 at noon in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Johns Hopkins advanced to the quarterfinal after a crushing 19-7 win over No. 7 Virginia on Sunday afternoon.

Syracuse and Johns Hopkins met earlier this season on March 14^th in the Carrier Dome; the Orange won that matchup up 13-10.

“It looks like they’ve [Johns Hopkins] hit their stride and are playing pretty well on both ends of the field,” Desko said.  “We’ve got to be prepared, it’s never easy to try to beat somebody twice in one year, so we know they’re going to be fired up and the game’s in their backyard.”

Syracuse Downs Penn to Face Loyola in NCAA quarterfinals

Photos by Jiayang Zhang
Syracuse, N.Y. - 
Playing at the SU Soccer Stadium after a pouring rain, the No. 3/3 Syracuse University women’s lacrosse team beat the No. 15/14 Pennsylvania Quakers 13-10 Sunday afternoon. The Orange now gets a rematch Loyola in the Carrier Dome next week for a spot in NCAA Final Four. Loyola upset SU in the regular season finale.

Kayla Treanor and Tory Bensen led Syracuse and Pennsylvania offense respectively, both scoring four goals. Treanor also registered two assists and won several draws for the Orange. 

Syracuse came out quick with Treanor’s goal 50 seconds into the game. The Quakers responded quickly as well with a goal by Catherine Dickinson one minute later. The two teams scored in turn in the first eight minutes until Dickinson registered another goal to give the Quakers a two-point lead. But that was the best for Pennsylvania. The Orange kept pressuring the Quakers, earning five free positions in the first half and scored three of them. After Halle Majorana fired a shot through a crowd to tie the game, the Orange never let the game slip away from it. By the end of the first half, Syracuse already led Pennsylvania by two points. 

Syracuse came back in the second half to control the first ten minutes of the game. But the Quakers never gave up. They fought back to avoid falling behind too far. Bensen helped Pennsylvania stay in the game while improving her personal record to 58 goals. Although the Quakers won more draws than the Orange, they were not able to turn the game around.   

“I thought it was a really hard-fought game,” Pennsylvania head coach Karin Corbett said. “And it was an exciting game for everybody to watch. My team were in it the whole time. If a couple of shots went the 

other way, it could be a different outcome.”

But she also admitted that their finishing was a major concern. The Quakers’ shots went wide several times and they hit two pipes. Corbett said her team limited most of Syracuse offensive players except for Treanor, a five finalists  for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award.

“She is too dangerous,” Corbett said. “I think we left her alone a little bit.” 

The leading scorer of the Quakers, Bensen agreed that their final shot should be improved. She was frustrated about the result since the graduated players could not play any more games.

“But it’s not a question of lack of focus or heart,” Bensen said. “We didn’t have those final pushes. Despite the frustration, we walked out holding our heads high.” 

Besides attacking and trying to score, Treanor shared several draws with draw  specialist Kailah Kempney during the game.

“We tried to balance it,” Treanor said. “If Kailah is struggling a little bit, I can take one off of her to let her relax so she can come back later and take more.”

“Penn is a well-coached team,” Treanor said. “They came out ready to play. All the credit to them, but luckily we started to turn things around and things started to going our way.”

After eliminating Pennsylvania, Syracuse is going to face Loyola again in NCAA quarterfinals. It would be their second encounter in two weeks. The Orange lost to Loyola in the regular season finale by one goal at the SU Soccer Stadium last Saturday. Syracuse players crave a revenge. This time, they will go back to their home field - the Carrie Dome.

“Dome is our home field,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “We are a pretty quick team. We are much better offensively and defensively on a solid surface. The wet field at the first half really slowed us down. But we thank our soccer program for lending us the field.”

Up Next

Syracuse is going to take on Loyola next weekend in NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

Dartmouth Takes Historic Packard Cup

Story and photo by Lauren Williams

Liverpool, N.Y.—Clear skies and calm waters greeted No. 14 Dartmouth and No. 16 Syracuse in this Saturday’s faceoff for the historic Packard Cup at the Onondaga Lake Outlet. The Big Green crews swept all four races to retain the title, outpacing the Orange from start to finish.

“It looked like our execution was a little off for whatever reason,” Syracuse head coach Dave Reischman, said. “It was disappointing to see that. Hats off to Dartmouth, they weren’t off [and] they had a great day.”

In 1959, Anthony Ladd of Syracuse created the Packard Cup to honor Edward Packard, a stroke on the Syracuse crew of 1904 that captured the first IRA Championship for the university. The trophy goes to the team that wins the annual matchup between Dartmouth and Syracuse. The win for the Big Green was its third in row.

“We value the tradition of this cup,” Dartmouth's first-year head coach, Wyatt Allen, said. “It’s very cool for me to be a part of this history.”

Quick Off the Start

Despite a quick start from the Orange in the first race of the morning, the Varsity eights, the Big Green quickly regained control of the race, setting the stroke rate at 41 strokes per minute before settling at 39. By the 500 meter mark of the 2,000 meter race, Dartmouth had opened its lead, lengthening the gap as the contest progressed. By the halfway point, the Big Green stretched the margin to more than two boat lengths, making it nearly impossible for the Orange to come back. Regardless, Syracuse tried to pick up the pace, but Dartmouth ultimately bested them, finishing the race in 5:39.1. The Orange covered the course in 5:44.0.

“I feel like we had a pretty solid start,” Syracuse coxswain, Christian Mund, said. “Then we shifted the pace and weren’t able to keep up with what they going with. We were just trying to find that solid rhythm that we know we have in practice and unfortunately weren’t able to translate that today.”

Much like the first race of the morning, the second varsity eight boat race followed the same trajectory. The Big Green came off the start strong and maintained the speed until the end of the race. Dartmouth’s 2V crew crossed the finish line with a time of 5:45.6, while Syracuse stopped the clock 13 seconds later at 5:58.3, more than three length of open water behind.

“I think what has dictated our best rowing this season is coming out strong in the first 500 and then attempting to hold on to it,” Dartmouth captain Stuart Maeder said. “Today going into the blocks, we definitely knew it was going to take a pretty big effort in the beginning of the race - try and break away from the Syracuse crews early because we know they’re perennially a pretty strong program.”

Next On the Agenda

Both teams head to Worcester, Mass. next week Sunday for the Eastern Sprints. Dartmouth won the event in 1992, while Syracuse looks to grab its first. This marks the final rowing event of the season before the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championship, the oldest collegiate rowing championship in the country. Both teams' performance at the Sprints will determine whether they are invited to compete at the IRA.

Tides Edge Chiefs with Ninth-inning Run - Photos

 

Photos by Jiayang Zhang

 

Syracuse N.Y.- The Norfolk Tides tallied a ninth-inning run to beat the Syracuse Chiefs, 2-1. Here are photos of Wednesday's game. Click on any picture to start slide show.