John Galloway

THE CHAMPIONS

Posted in Brendan Loftus, Dan Hardy, Dave Pietramala, John Desko, John Galloway, Johns Hopkins, Mike Leveille, NCAA Division 1 lacrosse, Pat Perritt, Paul Rabil, Sid Smith, Steven Brooks, Syracuse on May 27th, 2008 by admin – Be the first to comment

“It’s the best ending possible.” That’s the way senior Mike Leveille described Syracuse’s victory over defending champ Johns Hopkins. “It’s unbelievable, and we couldn’t be happier.” Leveille deserved to be happy. He was named the tourney’s most valuable player.
Quint Kessenech of ESPN.com described the setting for us:

Two of the NCAA’s most successful programs, two passionate fan bases, a beautiful day in Foxborough and a crowd of over 48,000 in attendance — it was the recipe for an exciting finish to the season. Syracuse and Johns Hopkins did not disappoint. The Orange looked like the fitter team and ultimately were able to prevail over the defending champs, 13-10.

Despite the heroic efforts of Hopkins’ senior Paul Rabil who scored 6 goals, Syracuse won the game with midfield scoring. And according to Kessenech “Dan Hardy, Pat Perritt, Brendan Loftus and Steven Brooks each won his individual matchup.”


Steven Brooks defends Paul Rabil – Photo: Adam Hunger/Reuters

Syracuse, which failed to make the NCAA playoffs last year – the first time since 1982 – made the most of this opportunity to win its 9th national title.

Johns Hopkins Coach Dave Pietramala acknowledged that his team was outplayed. ““I give them all the credit,” Pietramala declared. “The bottom line is that’s why they’re Syracuse.”

Syracuse Coach John Desko managed to turn last year’s disappointments to this year’s triumph by relying on his seniors, changing coaching responsibilities and re-emphasizing conditioning and defense.

Freshman goalie John Galloway had an impressive first season and as Pete Thamel notes: “the junior college transfer Sid Smith, who shut out Virginia’s Ben Rubeor on Saturday and held Hopkins attackman Kevin Huntley to two goals Monday.”


Goalie John Galloway celebrates – Photo: Winslow Townsend/AP

Monday set a record for attendance, and the 3 day tournament at Foxboro drew a total of 145,828 – a weekend record.

It was a great day for Syracuse and a great day for lacrosse in America. If you missed this year, there’s always next year. Long live lacrosse!