Foxboro,
MA - In front of a crowd of approximately 50,000 fans in Gillette stadium; the third seeded Syracuse lacrosse team brought home its 9th title in the past 25 years by taking down last years champion, fifth seeded Johns Hopkins. In a battle of perennial lacrosse powerhouses, Syracuse dominated for most of the game even though the score showed a close game at 13-10. The Orange out shot Hopkins 46-38 on their road to victory capped by an incredible behind the back goal. The Orange tied Hopkins for most NCAA titles in D-I history with 9.
The win was important for two reasons. Defensemen Kyle and Tom Guadagnolo lost their brother Aaron in a motorcycle accident last Tuesday and the whole team was overwhelmed with emotion. Kyle played spectacular holding attacker Steven Boyle to one goal.
Also on a less important note the Orange athletic teams needed a good shot in the arm as last year the lacrosse team didn't make the tournament for the first time since 1982. The basketball team has not made the NCAA tournament in the past two years as it may be reeling from a hangover from its 2003 championship. And as far as the football team is concerned they have been mired in a horrible slump for the past decade as the new coach Greg Robinson has been busy recruiting and getting his players into the system over the past four years.
Lacrosse's popularity has been increasing throughout the years and its great to have two perennial powerhouses year after year with the occasional underdog making it to the finals (see University of Delaware in 2007). It will be great to see some of the players from the Takkle Top 100 play next year for these two teams next year and hopefully meet again at Gillette Stadium for the 2009 championships. #7 on the top 100, John Greeley will play for Johns Hopkins next year. Monday drew a crowd of just under 50,000 and a 3 day record setting total of 148,000 is a great sign of the direction lacrosse is heading.
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