The 2007 season was one of the best and worst seasons ever for Syracuse Lacrosse. The men didn't reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in over 20 years while the women had their most successful season ever culminated with a Big East title.
Both teams return most of their key players for 2008. Here's a look at both teams.
Syracuse Women's Lacrosse:
Last year's record: 13-6
Last year's accolades: Big East Championship and trip to NCAA quarterfinals.
Key Addition: Syracuse legend Gary Gait will coach the ladies in 2008.
Key losses: Ashley Pike and Jill DePretis.
What's in store for 2008:
The Big East will be tough this year with four teams in the Top 25. Syracuse ranks the highest of the four at fifth overall. Georgetown at 11, Notre Dame at 12, and Rutgers at 19th are the other ranked teams from the Big East.
The team brings back many of their top scoring options. Among those who will be back:
- Katie Rowan: Team leading 59 goals and 86 points
- Christina Dove: 47 goals and 12 power play goals
- Haley Quillinan: 50 goals
- Kristen Brady: 28 goals and ground balls
- Bridgey Looney: 13 goals and team leading 42 ground balls.
Scoring will not be a problem for the Orange this year.
Back in the net will be Amber Pardee-Hill who allowed less than 10 goals a game for the 'Cuse.
Taking a look at their schedule, this team should easily win 12 of 16 games on the year. They only play two teams ranked ahead of them. If they play to their potential a 14-2 or 15-1 regular season is definitely possible. They should be the favorites heading into the Big East tournament again. This team could have 17 wins entering the NCAA tournament which will put them in good position for a top seed.
Gary Gait factor: Gary Gait should help this team improve their offense even further as he'll bring a new dimension to women's lacrosse never seen before. The Orange attack will be even more explosive than last year when they averaged 15 goals a game. Their scoring average this year could increase to over 17 goals a game with Gait at the helm.
Final Prediction in bold, but isn't quite so bold: The Ladies finish the regular season and Big East Tournament with a 16-2 record. They go to the NCAA finals and lose a heart breaker to Northwestern 17-15.
Now for the men's preview:
Last year's record: 5-8
Last year's Accolades: None. No playoffs and no conference tournament because the men are independent.
Key Addition: Freshman John Galloway from West Genesee could replace Peter Coluccini in net by the end of the year.
Key losses: Greg Rommel, Steve Panarelli, Danny Brennan, and Jon Jerome. Syracuse loses its top two face off winners in Brennan and Jerome.
What's in store for 2008:
I don't think 2008 is going to be a whole lot better than 2007. I do think they will have a winning record, but the team lost some very valuable players. Mike Leveille, Dan Hardy, and Steven Brooks are All-Americans and should have ridiculous offensive numbers, but defense could pose as a problem again. Which team will show up on an everyday basis? The one who blew the living daylights out of Rutgers and played top ranked Cornell tough or the one who couldn't score against Army and got hammered by nation powers like Virginia and Johns Hopkins.
Coach John Desko has eight games on the schedule of 14 that are pretty winnable games. After that, they have six tough games against ranked opponents. A 9-5 regular season record is probably the most likely with 10-4 a distinct possibility. It should be enough to get this team back into the NCAA tournament.
The Orange return their top five scorers from a year ago:
- Leveille: Team high 22 goals and 39 points.
- Hardy: Team high 22 goals and 32 points.
- Kenny Nims: 18 goals and 30 points.
- Steven Brooks 19 goals and 26 points.
- Greg Niewieroski: 19 goals and 24 points.
Final Prediction in bold, but isn't quite so bold: The Orange finish the season 9-5, but begin to find their identity late in season and show why they are Inside Lacrosse's 11th ranked team in the preseason. They go to the NCAA tournament, winning in the first round, but lose in the second round.
Check back tomorrow for the 2008 Philadelphia Flyers Preview.
1 comment:
Ya know, you weren't too far off with your prediction on the ladies' side. SU scored 18 goals per game this season, not 17. Also, SU will meet Northwestern in the semifinals and not the championship game.
Also, Pardee-Hill never played a minute in the goal cage this season.
Believe it's going to be a great game this Friday.
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