Syracuse 7 - Princeton 5: New Jersey Turn-yikes
by Sean Keeley on Apr 11, 2011 9:00 AM EDT
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It's official. Syracuse is in full-on "We will win every game from here on out but we are going to take 27 years of the lives of each Orange fan out there by the time this season is over." That's regardless of quality of opponent, their record and whether or not the game has any business being close.
Case in point, Saturday's 7-5 win over Princeton.
The top-ranked Orange allowed a 5-2 halftime lead slip away, then dug deep and found a way to win. Senior attackman Stephen Keogh took a pass from midfielder Steve Ianzito, turned and while falling ripped a right-handed shot over Tyler Fiorito with 7 minutes, 30 seconds to play.
Defensive midfielder Kevin Drew added an empty-net goal with just over a minute left, and Syracuse won a game in which it suffered a 27-minute scoring drought, was outshot by the plodding Tigers 30-29, committed two more turnovers than the host team and committed five one-minute infractions.
Here's the good news. When it mattered most, the Orange rallied together and ground out yet another victory, their 9th on the season. Here's even better news, they did it without defenseman John Lade, who ended up sitting out the game with his ankle injury. The defense held up its end of the bargain:
The Orange gave up only five goals, the third time in the last four outings Syracuse held its opponent to five goals or less. It killed all five of Princeton’s man-up opportunities, including a one-minute penalty against sophomore Brian Megill for slashing late in the fourth quarter while clinging to a 6-5 lead.
The 9-0 Orange just keep on keeping on. That said, don't be too shocked to see Notre Dame snag another first-place vote or two. One gets the sense the lacrosse world is in doubt mode on the Orange. If they keep this up, they'll be the least-feared No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history. So be it, cause the Orange keep on winning all the same.
Oh and by the way, Jovan Miller is better than you, Exhibits A & B:
Syracuse University lacrosse coach explains why he lost his cool during victory over Tigers...Syracuse.com
With Lade out, replacement Hamlin contains Tigers' top scorer in 1st career start...Daily Orange
SQUEEZE PLAY: Orange stays patient, finds open seams against Tigers defense to stay perfect...Daily Orange
Keogh’s hat trick leads SU past Princeton...The Juice Online
Top Ranked Syracuse Stays Unbeaten...ESPN
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It's really unbelievable
And the rest of the country keeps falling farther behind (Duke, UVA). They’re clearly the best team in the country right now – and a win over Cornell would confirm that – but you get the feeling they could lose to anyone.
Has a team ever gone into the tournament undefeated and the top seed with its fan base having little to no confidence in it?
I don’t know how to feel anymore.
9-0
that’s all that matters in the end.
Also, has the lacrosse team been taking uniform lessons from Oregon? It looks like they’re dressing themselves by throwing darts at an SU Bookstore catalog.
Go, fight, and win.
the ESPNU announcers made a similar comment during the game
Said all the SU Lax uniform changes reminded them of Oregon.
I just wanna tell you both good luck, and we're all counting on you.
The uniform theory
I think SU wore blue shorts to go retro-ish (they wore old-school 2000-era helmets too) b/c Princeton honored the 2001 champion Tigers at halftime. I’m fine with all the unis except the all-whites they usually wear at home.
So… I’m going to say something mildly insane. I am not sure I want the team to go into the tournament undefeated and playing like this. Right now this team seems like they are consistently right on the edge of slipping up. I feel like someone is going to get them at some point and, hopefully, when it happens it will be a wake up call. Because right now I feel like part of the reason they are playing as sloppy as they are is because they can get away with it. But if they keep winning like this and go into the tournament playing like this, I don’t think they will win four games. And then it will be too late for a wake up call.
Obviously I don’t actually want them to lose. I want them to win every game. But if the NCAAs started tomorrow, i’d be scared as hell.
'Cuse 2010, Michigan 2012
by Orange22 on Apr 11, 2011 12:07 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
you may get your not-really-but-sorta wish soon
Cornell is playing well.
I just wanna tell you both good luck, and we're all counting on you.
I know. I think Tuesday and a few weeks from now against ND will tell us a lot more about this team. Obviously my prefered outcome is that they actually play to their potential and win the game. But I’m not sure continuing to scrape things out is good for them in the long run.
'Cuse 2010, Michigan 2012
by Orange22 on Apr 11, 2011 2:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I think I'm going to go the ND game
I just wanna tell you both good luck, and we're all counting on you.
Officiating is a joke
If you read the article about Desko losing his cool it only told half the story. The officials took control of this game in the 2nd quarter by calling SU for TWO stall warnings. One in the final 2 minutes of the half. Princeton packed their zone in so tight, SU had no choice but to keep passing the ball around it. I thought Desko was going to run out on the field and choke a bitch on the second call. SU played the late 2nd quarter and all the 3rd tentative and made dumb mistakes. Playing far too tight, I think the stall warnings had an impact. I’m glad that these guys always seem to find a way to get back on track in the 4th, but goddamn if they don’t look like fools when they play braindead offensively for long stretches.
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