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The Daily OrangeMLAX | Brooks caps another comeback as SU upsets Johns Hopkins in OT
By Kyle Austin
Posted: 3/15/08, 5:17 PM EST Section: Sports
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Photos: Stephen Dockery
BALTIMORE - Steven Brooks admitted he doesn't like playing overtime games.
So with his Syracuse team locked in a tie with Johns Hopkins here at Homewood Field, the SU midfielder decided he would end it quickly.
Thirty seconds into the overtime, Brooks took a pass from midfielder Dan Hardy 15 yards away from the JHU goal and gave Syracuse a 14-13 win over the No. 4 Blue Jays.
"I had a sweep to my strong hand and I just took it," Brooks said. "I made a little stutter step, had an opportunity and did a jump shot right between his legs and found the back of the net."
An elated Brooks didn't break stride when he ran past the JHU goal, as his teammates streamed in from the bench to mob him around the endline. Brooks' goal, his fourth of the game, capped a wild three-week span, in which Syracuse came out with two wins in three overtime contests against top-12 teams.
The victory over the Blue Jays (3-2) moved the No. 5 Orange to 4-1 on the year, and back into its usual spot near the top of the lacrosse world. Syracuse last won at Homewood Field exactly 10 years and one day ago in 1998, also a 14-13 triumph.
In SU's last two games, it was Brooks who sent the game to overtime. Two weeks ago against Virginia, he scored with 28 seconds left in regulation. Last week against Georgetown, he scored with just two ticks on the clock.
This week, instead of causing the overtime, Brooks ended it.
"We don't like overtimes, but it's good to come out with a win," Brooks said. "We fought hard today; we were fighting back the whole entire game. It's about time we came out with a victory once again at Homewood."
After staying with the Blue Jays through the first quarter, with the score tied at two, Syracuse trailed throughout the rest of the game after a four-goal JHU rally in the second. The Orange was able to cut the lead to one at the half, but Johns Hopkins scored three of the next four.
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