No. 1 Syracuse Off to Best Start Since 2000 After Beating Albany 18-13
from press release
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 1-ranked Orange
displayed its offensive depth against Albany Tuesday. Syracuse
received points from 13 players and boasted 11 different goal
scorers on its way to an 18-13 victory over the 14th-ranked Great
Danes (3-2) at the Carrier Dome. The 18 goals marked a season high
for Syracuse (5-0), which rebounded after only scoring nine goals
in an overtime victory against Georgetown at the Konica Minolta
Face-Off Classic.
The points came from all over the field, but it was junior Tommy
Palasek (Rocky Point, N.Y.) that had a breakout performance.
Palasek, who entered the game with two assists for the year, scored
a personal-best five points, including a career-high four
goals.
"It obviously feels good to get the first goal (of the
season),” Palasek said. “I think confidence comes from
practice and I've been finding the back of the net and feeding the
ball well there, so it's good to have it transition into a
game.”
Redshirt junior Tim Desko (Syracuse, N.Y.) and senior Jeremy
Thompson (Nedrow, N.Y.) continued their stellar offensive play
Tuesday. Desko matched his career-high with five points (4g, 1a)
and Thompson chipped in four points on two goals and two assists.
Thompson also tied his career-best with 11 faceoff wins. It was a
bittersweet performance for Thompson, who went up against his
younger brother, Miles, and cousin, Ty, two starting attackmen for
the Great Danes.
In addition to the SU’s usual stars, senior defenseman
Thomas Guadagnolo (Jordan, N.Y.) and senior defensive midfielder
Tim Harder (Garden City, N.Y.) got into the act, tallying the first
goals of their careers in the opening half. Rookie Scott Loy
(Toledo, Ohio) netted his first college goal in the fourth quarter,
and long-stick midfielder Joel White (Cortland, N.Y.) added one
goal and one assist to tie his personal best with two points.
"I was really happy with the contributions today,” SU head
coach John Desko said. “We had a lot of guys score. At
halftime I think Tim (Desko) had two and a lot of other guys had
one. It's good to get the experience for everyone.”
Syracuse wasted no time jumping on top of the Great Danes. Jeremy
Thompson won the game’s first faceoff and scored from 10
yards out off a quick pass from senior Josh Amidon (Lafayette,
N.Y.) to give the Orange a 1-0 lead. The hosts scored three more
goals in the opening period, two by Desko and one by White, to
extend its lead to 4-1 heading into the second quarter.
Albany’s Ty Thompson trimmed the SU lead to 4-2 at the 12:06
mark of the second frame, but the Orange quickly pulled away.
Senior Jeff Gilbert (Liverpool, N.Y.) converted an extra-man
opportunity with 9:26 to go in the second quarter, and Palasek
tallied his first goal in an Orange uniform to extend the advantage
to 6-2 with 6:18 remaining in the half.
It was just the beginning. Overall, the Orange scored five of the
quarter’s last six goals and led 9-3 at halftime.
After another Jeremy Thompson goal to start the third quarter,
Albany’s Matt Johnson scored twice to cut the SU lead to
10-5. That’s as close as the Great Danes got. Syracuse scored
the next three goals to increase its margin to 13-5 and went on to
the 18-13 victory.
The game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated.
Albany scored six goals in the fourth quarter after the game was
already well in hand and Desko had emptied the bench.
Senior John Galloway (Syracuse, N.Y.) played the first three
quarters and registered three saves to earn his 49th win, moving
into a tie for second with Air Force’s Ken Wessels on the
NCAA career wins list. Sophomore Matthew Lerman (Villanova, Pa.)
and freshman Ben Levy (Alexandria, Va.) relieved Galloway in the
cage. Lerman totaled three saves and Levy had one.
Syracuse dominated the statistics, holding the advantage in shots
(46-32) and ground balls (37-21) for the game. The Orange also
converted 24-of-25 clearing opportunities and scored on two of its
four man-up chances.
Ty Thompson paced the Great Danes with three goals. Joe
Resetarits, Matt Johnson and Matt Mackenzie each had two. Miles
Thompson contributed one goal and one assist.
The Orange returns to action on Saturday, March 19 when it hosts
Johns Hopkins at 6 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. It’s a matchup
of the two winningest programs in the history of college lacrosse.
The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU.
Game Notes: At 5-0, Syracuse is off to its best
start since 2000 … The Orange improved to 9-0 all-time
against Albany and has won 14 consecutive games against America
East Conference opponents … Junior Collin Donahue (Camillus,
N.Y.) recorded his first points in an SU uniform with two assists
against the Great Danes … Junior Kevin Drew (Katonah, N.Y.)
collected a career-high five ground balls in the contest …
Albany played the game without all three of its starting
midfielders … Brian Caufield, Rocky Bonitatibus and Derek
Kreuzer all missed the game with injuries they suffered in the
Great Danes’ win over Ohio State on March 12.
