A quick look at Syracuse’s 7-5 win over Princeton in a matchup of two of the most storied programs in college lacrosse history:
HOW THE GAME WAS WON: With a little more than seven minutes left to play in the fourth quarter and the gamed knotted at five, Stephen Keogh fired passed Princeton goalie Tyler Fiorito to give the Orange a one goal lead. The defense would take it from there, as the Orange held the Tigers scoreless in the fourth quarter despite the Tigers having two man-up opportunities. Kevin Drew scored on an empty net with 1:17 left for the final margin. Princeton hung with the Orange despite being ravaged with injuries. It appeared the Orange would have an easy day early on as SU jumped out to a 5-2 lead heading into half. But the Tigers held the Orange scoreless for 27 minutes and made things interesting.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Orange once again won a close game. While Syracuse improved to 9-0 this season, seven of those nine wins were by two goals or less, including last Sunday’s 13-11 win over Duke. It was also a milestone day for SU coach John Desko, who celebrated his 200th game as head coach of the Orange. He now boasts a record of 156-44.
STAR GAZING: Keogh continued his stellar season with three goals, good for his 19th career hat trick. He now has 20 goals and five assists on the season. Princeton attackman Chris McBride had two goals to lead the way for the Tigers.
INJURY REPORT: The Orange was without defenseman John Lade on Saturday. Lade injured his ankle against Duke last Sunday and practiced earlier this week, but Desko decided before the game to sit his senior All-American. Desko turned to redshirt sophomore David Hamlin, who made his first career start. The move paid off as it was the third game in the past four for the Orange where it limited an opponent to five goals or less.
WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse plays its first home game since March 19 against Johns Hopkins when it hosts Cornell on Tuesday at the Carrier Dome.
