ORANGE MEN’S LACROSSE RALLIES TO BEAT PRINCETON, 13-12

PRINCETON, N.J. – Redshirt sophomore Henry Schoonmaker (Portland, Ore.) tallied a career-high six points to lead No. 8 Syracuse (7-2) to a 13-12 comeback win against Princeton (6-3) Saturday, April 6 at Princeton Stadium. It was the Orange’s fourth straight win in the series and the team’s fifth in the last six meetings with the Tigers.

Schoonmaker finished with four goals and two assists in the contest. His performance helped SU overcome a pair of two-goal deficits in the fourth quarter. Schoonmaker’s final goal tied the score, 12-12, with 4:31 to play and set the stage for JoJo Marasco’s (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) game-winner with 2:32 remaining.

Overall, Syracuse notched five of the game’s last seven goals and outscored the Tigers 6-3 in the fourth quarter to claim its third victory over a top-10 opponent this season.

Early on it didn’t seem like a Syracuse rally would be necessary. The Orange scored on three of its first five shots as Schoonmaker connected twice and sophomore Matt Walters (Villanova, Pa.) notched a man-up tally to give the Orange a 3-0 advantage midway through the first quarter.

With Syracuse on the verge of breaking the game open, Princeton’s Jake Froccaro and Mike MacDonald scored in the span of 1:24 late in the period to trim the SU lead to 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The two sides continued to trade blows in the second frame. Princeton outscored SU 3-2 in the period, including a goal by Froccaro’s brother, Jeff, with 10 seconds left in the half that tied the score, 5-5.

In the third quarter, SU appeared ready to seize control of the game again. Marasco and Schoonmaker opened the period with consecutive goals to put the Orange back in front by two, 7-5.

But again the Tigers fought back. This time they scored four straight goals, including two by MacDonald in the last minute, to claim a 9-7 advantage after three quarters.

Princeton still held a two-goal lead (10-8) three minutes into the fourth quarter. That all changed when junior Derek Maltz (Ashburn, Va.) scored twice in 11 seconds to tie the game once more. Maltz finished a Kevin Rice (Skaneateles, N.Y.) pass with 10:53 remaining. Then Schoonmaker picked up the ground ball on the ensuing faceoff and fed Maltz inside to make it 10-10.

Consecutive unassisted goals by Chris White and Jeff Froccaro pushed the Princeton advantage to two again (12-10) with 6:57 left, but the final momentum swing belonged to Syracuse. Junior Billy Ward (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) struck with 5:28 to play and Schoonmaker and Marasco scored late to complete the comeback.

Marasco finished with two goals and two assists. The senior factored in SU’s last three goals, recording two assists in addition to netting the deciding goal himself.

Junior goalie Dominic Lamolinara (Arnold, Md.) led the defensive effort for Syracuse. He made a career-high 14 saves to improve to 4-1 on the year. Nine of Lamolinara’s saves came in the first half. He also had three in the fourth quarter to give the Orange offense a chance to rally late.

Freshman faceoff specialist Brendan Conroy (Muttontown, N.Y.) and defensive midfielders Matt Harris (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Peter Macartney (Evergreen, Colo.) also played crucial roles in the win. Conroy set a career high with 13 faceoff wins and finished the game 13-of-18 (.722). He helped spur the Orange to an 18-11 advantage at the X, including a 7-3 margin in the fourth quarter.

Harris and Macartney combined to hold Princeton All-American midfielder Tom Schreiber to one goal on the day. Harris also picked up five ground balls and Macartney had two.

Jeff Froccaro finished with a team-high four goals and MacDonald contributed three for the Tigers. Princeton goalie Matt O’Connor totaled nine saves in a losing effort.

Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome to face Central New York rival Cornell Wednesday, April 10 at 6 p.m. The matchup is ESPNU's "Warrior Game of the Week."

Game Notes: SU head coach John Desko is 15-5 all-time in his career against Princeton … The Orange improved to 9-2 in road games with the Tigers … Senior midfielder Luke Cometti (Syracuse, N.Y.) tied his career high with two assists … Redshirt senior Ryan Barber (Camillus, N.Y.) scored a goal in the first half … Barber has three goals in the last two games.