The #2 Syracuse returned home to the Dome after a slew of three games on the road in dominating fashion as they upended the #8 Minutemen 18-10. The score really doesn't tell the whole story as the Orangemen were up 18-6 as head coach John Desko began substituting virtually everyone off the bench in the fourth quarter. Mike Powell led all Syracuse players with 3 goals and 4 assists. Kevin Leveille and Marc Morley each had 3 goals in the losing effort for the Minutemen. This loss to Syracuse comes one week after beating #3 Georgetown 16-13 on the road and had many SU fans believing the Minutemen would be able to give Syracuse a run for their money. Syracuse in need of a win to clinch a bye in the first round of the tournament clearly had other plans.

Josh Coffman opened up the scoring for Syracuse 32 seconds into the game, but UMass answered right back with a goal by Kevin Leveille off the cross crease pass from Gene Tundo. The highlight of the quarter came off a scrum in the deep corner of the Syracuse zone when defenseman John Glatzel did some magnificent stick and body work to elude the UMass attackmen for the clear. It was one of those plays you just had to see to appreciate. Mike Powell got SU on the board again as he took the ball behind the net and quickly stepped out in front for the easy put in. Still very early in the first, attackman Kevin Leveille evened things up again with a hard shot from the side to beat goalie Jay Pfeifer. At this point it looked as if we were in for a game but, with a little more than halfway into the first quarter things got ugly. With the score knotted at two, Syracuse went on an eight goal unanswered streak, four of which came from midfielders Vallone, Solliday, and Wright. The UMass defense just seemed to be collapsing before the penetrating Syracuse offense. Only towards the end of the half did they gain any sort of momentum back with 3 straight goals sending both teams into the lockerroom with the score SU 10 UMass 5.

As the second half began everyone knew UMass was going to have to get something going quickly. Three SU goals later from Powell, Nee, and Hardy the score read 13-5 SU. What did we learn here? Syracuse is just too good. As if 13-5 wasn't enough against the #8 Minutemen, Syracuse pumped in 5 more after UMass got one score off a debatable shot that needed to be reviewed. At 18-6 Desko started to put in his subs as UMass rattled off 4 straight goals, but it was too little too late. The clock expired with Syracuse up 18-10.

After this performance the Orangeman are flying high as May approaches. If Syracuse can keep up the intensity they play with at home on the road for the tournament there shouldn't be much in their way. Syracuse just completely overpowered UMass with their aggressive style of play at the defensive end and extremely potent offensive. The close defense of Syracuse played extremely well. Billy St.George was punishing oppenents with over-the-head checks all day. While it was clear who was going to come out on top for most of the game, these games are still really fun to watch.

Only one game remains in Syracuse's schedule which takes place next weekend at the dome against Georgetown. Thus far, Syracuse has outscored its opponents 70-31 in the dome this year over the course of four games. UMass finishes off its regular season on the road at Rutgers. The attendance at the Dome friday evening was 5,939.

Syracuse vs. Massachusetts

Syracuse

18

Scoring
Michael Powell	(3, 4)
Josh Coffman	(4, 2)
Michael Springer	(3, 2)
Brian Nee	(3, 0)
Spencer Wright	(1, 2)
Steve Vallone	(2, 0)
Tom Hardy	(1, 0)
Brian Solliday	(1, 0)
Jarett Park	(0, 1)
Mike Smith	(0, 1)

Saves
Jay Pfeifer	14 (0.700)
Alex Mummolo	4 (0.500)

Current Record
Syracuse	11-2

Massachusetts

10

Scoring
Chris Fiore	(1, 2)
Kevin Leveille	(3, 0)
Don Little	(2, 1)
Marc Morley	(3, 0)
Gene Tundo	(0, 1)
Matt Mcfarland	(0, 1)
Neil Lundburg	(1, 0)
Craig Conn	(0, 1)
Jeff Zywicki	(0, 1)

Saves
Bill Schell	13 (0.419)

Current Record
Massachusetts	10-3