Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMLAX | Revenge is sweet: Syracuse thrashes rival UMass by 13 for 10th consecutive victory
By Kyle Austin
Posted: 4/27/08, 11:29 PM EST Section: Sports
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But that just wouldn't be Syracuse's style. Instead, he fired a long pass across the cage to an airborne Kenny Nims for a lacrosse alley-oop - a mid-air pass-and-shoot around UMass goalie Doc Schneider.
Scoring goals had become too easy in the fast-paced first half. The Orange had done it seven times in 18 minutes. So Syracuse had turned to the circus-type play to pile it on the Minutemen.
When it was all over, No. 2 Syracuse had trounced UMass in the Carrier Dome in front of 4,582 at the final regular-season home game to improve to 12-1 in one of its most dominating performances of the year - two weeks before the NCAA tournament.
"It was just a really good day for the Orangemen I think," SU head coach John Desko said. "Things were clicking offensively, we saw the zone early on, we made some changes to our zone offense, and that was working. We played good defense, we were making saves. We were clearing the ball."
The list of things Syracuse did well Saturday is seemingly endless. The three goals allowed by the defense is the second-lowest total of the year, second only to a two-goal performance against Binghamton on March 22. Turnovers were down, and clears were up in one of the team's most complete games of the year.
It was a blowout, even by the standards of Syracuse, a team that has won six games by seven or more goals this season. The team jumped out to a 9-0 first-half lead, as it powered past a UMass (5-8) team that was futilely trying to force SU off of its fast pace.
In the first quarter alone, Syracuse put up five goals while the Minutemen were able to manage only one shot.
"The first quarter determined the outcome," UMass coach Greg Cannella said. "You can't just keep slowing it down. Not that we tried to speed it up, but we tried to handle the ball a little bit better."
The SU attack scored in every way imaginable - fast break, drives, long shots and short shots. The Orange made mince meat of a UMass defensive unit that came in allowing only 8.07 goals per game.
"We have so many weapons, on any given day any guy can step up," Leveille said. "Between the first two midfield lines and the attack unit, and I think that makes us very dangerous and very hard to defend."
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