| Syracuse starts off 2012 strong with men's recruits, women's lacrosse assistant coach Tuesday, September 11, 2012 10:39:50 AM As college lacrosse gets underway with recruiting class announcements and team prospects for the upcoming season begin to take shape, Syracuse is proving it may be a force to be reckoned with this year. The Oranges' men's recruiting group was ranked No. 9 in the nation, according to LaxPower.com, behind such powerhouses as North Carolina, Duke and Harvard. Their roster includes three of the top 100 players in the country. Among them is 15th-overall-ranked Ryan Palasek of Rocky Point, New York, a defenseman who broke his high school's record for forced turnovers with 167. On September 4, the university had another big announcement from women's lax coach Gary Gait. According to a Lacrosse Magazine press release, Katie Rowan, Syracuse's most accomplished female lacrosse player, will rejoin the school's effort as an assistant coach. Rowan has taken the field with the gold-medal-winning women's U.S. national team as the second-leading scorer in the 2009 FIL World Cup tournament. She scored a mind-boggling 232 goals during her tenure at Syracuse. In 2008, she broke her school's record for single-season goals and assists. Gait said in the release, "Katie is a perfect fit. As a former player, she embraces everything Syracuse lacrosse is about." Rowan has also spent her off-time since graduating three years ago as an assistant coach for Albany and as a volunteer coach for her alma mater. With excellent women's leadership and a fresh crop of skilled and eager talent on the men's side, the Oranges have a shot to reprise their recent impressive performances this year. |

