SU MEN’S LACROSSE TO HOST RUTGERS ON SENIOR DAY

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- No. 8 Syracuse (8-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) puts its five-game home winning streak on the line Saturday, April 13 when its hosts Rutgers (2-10, 0-4 BIG EAST) at 1 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The Orange is coming off one of its biggest wins of the season, having beaten No. 2 Cornell, 13-12, on Wednesday. The Scarlet Knights also played a midweek game, losing 13-8 to Princeton.

SENIOR DAY AT THE DOME
Ten members of the Orange program will be honored prior to the Rutgers game in a short ceremony as part of Senior Day. Kyle Carey (Worthington, Ohio), Stefan Carpentieri (Armonk, N.Y.), Luke Cometti (Syracuse, N.Y.), Joe Fazio (Syracuse, N.Y.), David Hamlin (New Hartford, N.Y.), Matthew Lerman (Villanova, Pa.), JoJo Marasco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Brian Megill (Clark, N.J.), Matt Pratt (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Griffin Vehar (Hudson, Ohio) will all be introduced individually before faceoff. As a group, they have won three BIG EAST championships (two regular season, one tournament) and helped the Orange earn three NCAA Tournament appearances.

STREAKING AT HOME
The Orange is 5-1 at the Carrier Dome this season, winning five straight Dome encounters since losing its season opener to Albany on Feb. 17. The Orange is tied with Duke for the second-longest active home winning streak in the country. Drexel currently leads all NCAA Division I lacrosse programs with seven straight home victories dating back to last season.

HIGH SCHOOL TEAMMATES MEET AGAIN
Brian Megill could find himself guarding a former high school teammate Saturday. Megill and twin brothers Scott and Matt Klimchak of Rutgers all hail from Clark, N.J. and played together at Arthur L. Johnson High School. Megill has started every game this season. Scott Klimchak is Rutgers' leading goal scorer (26). Matt Klimchak (seven goals, two assists) has appeared in eight games with one start.

MAKING HISTORY
The 2013 Orange is believed to be first team in college lacrosse history to go 4-0 against Virginia, Johns Hopkins, Princeton and Cornell in the regular season. Syracuse has beaten all four teams in the same year twice before, but that included victories in the NCAA playoffs. In 2004, the Orange defeated Virginia, Princeton and Cornell in the regular year and knocked off Hopkins in the national semifinals. The 2008 campaign saw Syracuse defeat Hopkins, Princeton and Cornell during the regular season and beat Virginia in the NCAA semis. Coincidentally, both the 2004 and 2008 Orange went on to win the national championship.

SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
After starting the season with a 15-6 victory over Manhattan, the Scarlet Knights have dropped 10 of their last 11 games. The only other victory for Rutgers came against Wagner, 20-10, on Feb. 19. Since then they've lost nine in a row and are still searching for their first BIG EAST win of the season.

Attackmen Nick DePaolera and Scott Klimchak have combined for 63 points. Klimchak leads the team with 26 goals. He also has six assists. DePaolera has 17 goals and a team-high 14 helpers, however, he did not play Tuesday against Princeton. Scott Bieda is the third member of the attack unit. He has 21 points, including 12 goals.

Like many previous Orange opponents, Rutgers possesses a dominant faceoff specialist in Cazenovia, N.Y. native Joseph Nardella. Nardella is third nationally in faceoff winning percentage (.650, 186-286) and ground balls per game (8.9). He leads the Scarlet Knights by a wide margin with 107 ground balls.

Rookie goalie Kris Alleyne has started 11 of the team's 12 games in the cage. He is fifth nationally with a .611 save percentage and he has 143 stops on the season. Nick Contino anchors the Rutgers defense in front Alleyne. Contino has 22 ground balls and a squad-best 18 caused turnovers.

THE SERIES
Syracuse and Rutgers have played at least once every season since 1979. The Orange owns a dominating 40-8 lead in the series thanks in large part to a 20-game winning streak from 1956 to 1995. The Orange has won the last eight games in the series and has defeated Rutgers by an aggregate score of 121-52 in those contests. The Orange is also 22-2 at home against the Scarlet Knights.

UP NEXT ...
The Kraus-Simmons Trophy will be on the line Tuesday, April 16 when Syracuse welcomes Hobart to the Carrier Dome. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.