May 27, 2000

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Mike Springer's goal with 2:23 remaining in the fourth quarter broke a 12-12 tie, helping top-seeded Syracuse defeat fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins, 14-12, in the first national semifinal lacrosse game Saturday afternoon at Byrd Stadium. The Orangemen (14-1) advance to the championship game for the second straight year while Johns Hopkins ends its season with a 9-4 record.

Springer took a feed from Ryan Powell goal-line extended on the left and drove the net, beating Brian Carcaterra up high for the goal. It was the third goal of the game for Springer.

Syracuse maintained a one-goal advantage throughout the second half as both team's traded goals. However, the Blue Jays got back-to-back goals from A.J. Haugen and Tim Muir to tie the score at 12-12 with 4:53 remaining. Muir's first career-goal got the Blue Jays even for the first time since early in the second quarter. Haugen registered a career-high five goals on the day. Johns Hopkins had an opportunity to take the lead, but Syracuse goalie Rob Mulligan came up with a big save to shut the door on the Blue Jays - one of eight, fourth quarter saves.

Dan Denihan and Adam Doneger staked the Blue Jays to a 2-0 lead with goals :09 apart in the first quarter. Syracuse rallied with three straight goals, two by Powell and another by Chris Cercy. Haugen's extra-man goal and Rob Frattarola's unassisted score gave the Blue Jays a 4-3 lead -its last lead of the first half. Cercy and Liam Banks ended the first quarter with goals as Syracuse took the 5-4 lead. Banks led all scorers with three goals and three assists for six points on the afternoon.

Matt Caione extended the Orangemen lead to 6-4 with an unassisted tally to open the second quarter. Haugen countered with back-to-back goals for Hopkins to tie the score for the fourth time in the first half. Syracuse answered as Josh Coffman and Banks scored to make it 8-6. Hopkins closed out the first half scoring with 2:35 left as Conor Denihan took a feed from Doneger and put it under Mulligan for the Blue Jays' second extra-man goal of the half.

It was Syracuse's fourth win in the last five meetings between the two teams. Syracuse will battle the winner of the Princeton/Virginia game on Monday at 10:55 a.m. at Byrd Stadium for the national championship live on ESPN.

GAME SCORING
Johns Hopkins (9-4) 4 3 3 2 -- 12
Syracuse (14-1)     5 3 3 3 -- 14

Qtr.-Time  Team, Goal (Assist) JHU-SU
1-11:03    JHU, Dan Denihan (unassisted) 1-0
1-10:54    JHU, Adam Doneger (P.J. Diconza) 2-0
1-9:04     SU, Ryan Powell (Liam Banks) 2-1
1-4:58     SU, Ryan Powell (Josh Coffman) 2-2
1-4:49     SU, Chris Cercy (unassisted) 2-3
1-3:50     JHU, A.J. Haugen (Dan Denihan) - EMO 3-3
1-2:24     JHU, Rob Frattarola (unassisted) 4-3
1-1:02     SU, Liam Banks (Tim Byrnes) 4-4
1-0:55     SU, Chris Cercy (unassisted) 4-5
2-14:19    SU, MattCaione (unassisted) 4-6
2-13:21    JHU, A.J. Haugen (unassisted) 5-6
2-11:13    JHU, A.J. Haugen (Dan Denihan) 6-6
2-10:37    SU, Josh Coffman (unassisted) 6-7
2-8:49     SU, Liam Banks (Mike Springer) 6-8
2-2:35     JHU, Conor Denihan (Adam Doneger) - EMO 7-8
3-14:09    SU, Mike Springer (Liam Banks) 7-9
3-9:57     JHU, A.J. Haugen (unassisted) 8-9
3-4:30     SU, Liam Banks (Marshall Abrams) 8-10
3-3:36     JHU, Adam Doneger (Dan Denihan) 9-10
3-2:36     SU, Mike Springer (Ryan Powell) 9-11
3-1:24     JHU, Rob Frattarola (Adam Doneger) 10-11
4-11:31    SU, Ryan Powell (unassisted) 10-12
4-10:03    JHU, A.J. Haugen (unassisted) 11-12
4-4:53     JHU, Tim Muir (unassisted) 12-12
4-2:23     SU, Mike Springer (Ryan Powell) - MAN DOWN 12-13
4-0:20     SU, Tim Byrnes (unassisted) 12-14


TEAM STATS
Category       Johns Hopkins                   Syracuse
Shots          13-12-9-17=51                   11-7-11-10=39
Saves             1-0-5-3=9                     3-1-2-8=14
Face-Offs      (5/10),(2/7),(1/7),(3/6)=11/30  (5/10),(5/7),(6/7),(3/6)=19/30
Groundballs    15-10-14-12=51                  24-13-22-12=71
Clears         (4/7),(5/7),(4/4),(4/5)=17/23   (9/10),(6/8),(2/3),(6/7)=23/28
Extra-Man Opp. (0/2),(1/2),(0/3),(0/5)=2/12    (0/0),(0/1),(0/3),(0/1)=0/5
Penalties      5/4:30                          12/10:00

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Johns Hopkins Scorers    Goals-Asst.-Pts.
A.J. Haugen                    5-0-5
Adam Doneger                   2-2-4
Dan Denihan                    1-3-4
Rob Frattarola                 2-1-3
Conor Denihan                  1-0-1
Tim Muir                       1-0-1
P.J. DiConza                   0-1-1

Syracuse Scorers         Goals-Asst.-Pts.
Liam Banks                     3-3-6
Ryan Powell                    3-2-5
Mike Springer                  3-1-4
Chris Cercy                    2-0-2
Josh Coffman                   1-1-2
Tim Byrnes                     1-1-2
Matt Caione                    1-0-1
Marshall Abrams                0-1-1

GOALIES
Johns Hopkins Goalies        Saves GA Min.
Brian Carcaterra                 9 14 60

Syracuse Goalies             Saves GA Min.
Rob Mulligan                    14 12 60