SYRACUSE ORANGE LACROSSE

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Syracuse and Princeton will meet Sat., April 4 at Giants Stadium as part of Inside Lacrosse's inaugural Big City Classic.

The Orange and Tigers play at 2:30 p.m. as the middle game of a tripleheader that also features North Carolina vs. Virginia (noon) and Delaware vs. Hofstra (5 p.m.).

Tickets for the Big City Classic will go on sale Dec. 1. Prices will be $15 for group purchases of 10 or more, $25 for lower level reserved seats and $40 for mezzanine level reserved seats at Giants Stadium.

The 2009 season marks the third consecutive year SU will participate in a major regular-season lacrosse event. The past two years Syracuse and Virginia have squared off in the Face-Off Classic, a doubleheader organized by Inside Lacrosse at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium.

"We are very excited to be playing in Giants Stadium against Princeton the first weekend of April," SU coach John Desko said. "After being involved in the Face-Off Classic the last two years, we know that being part of the Big City Classic will be a great experience for everyone associated with Syracuse lacrosse."

-Donna

Syracuse. NY -- This just in from Mike Morrison, the men's lacrosse contact at Syracuse University:

Syracuse lacrosse great Tom Marechek (1989-92) will be enshrined in the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame this weekend. The induction ceremony will begin at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. Marechek, a four-time All-American, was a member of two national championship teams (1989, 1990) with the Orange.

SU, coming off its 10th national championship, has been selected in a preseason poll by LAXnews as the second-best team in the nation for 2009. Virginia tops the list.

Here's the full Top 25 preseason prognosis:

1 Virginia
2 Syracuse
3 Hopkins
4 Maryland
5 Cornell
6 Duke
7 Princeton
8 Loyola
9 Navy
10 Carolina
11 Georgetown
12 Notre Dame
13 UMBC
14 Drexel
15 Colgate
16 Hofstra
17 Bucknell
18 Brown
19 Army
20 Ohio State
21 Denver
22 Harvard
23 Delaware
24 UMass
25 Stony Brook

Frank Ordonez / The Post-StandardSU safety Bruce Williams holds the ball after coming up with game-clinching interception during Saturday's game at the Dome.

To say Louisville does not like playing SU may be an understatement. For the second time in as many seasons, the underdog Orange beat the Cardinals 28-21 Saturday night at the Dome. SU entered the game a 13 point dog. Last year, Louisville was favored by 37 points and also lost to the Orange.

As Donnie Webb writes in Sunday's Post-Standard, "Louisville, somebody's got your number."

The game wasn't decided until Bruce Williams intercepted a Hunter Cantwell pass, making up for fumbling a punt to open up the fourth quarter.

Frank Ordonez / The Post-Standard

The star for the Orange in this one was Curtis Brinkley, who ran for 166 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries. It was quite a statement, considering Louisville came into the contest ranked 5th in the nation in stopping the run.

But while the game was crowd pleasing for the 32,917 on hand at the Dome, Post-Standard columnist Bud Poliquin has a few words of caution to go along with the victory. Those words come from Hall of Fame bound former SU QB Don McPherson, who witnessed the win. McPherson, who authored an 11-0-1 season for SU back in 1987, advises fans to lower their expectations, calling "7 wins the standard".

On the other side of the ball, Louisville fans will also have to lower their expectations. C.L. Brown, who covers the Cardinals for the Courier-Journal in Louisville, reports the loss to SU will "severely dampen thoughts of a conference title." The loss snapped a three game winning streak for Louisville, coming off a big win over South Florida.

SU now heads to New Jersey next week to face Rutgers (3-5 overall, 2-2 in the Big East).

For those lacrosse enthusiasts out there, I thought I would pass this along.

Inside Lacrosse did an interview with former SU goalie Pete Coluccini.

Remember him?

He, of course, was the goalie of the 2006 final four team and lost his starting spot to John Galloway last year.

Personally, he'll be missed. Coluccini was always a good quote and one of the few that could tactfully tell it like it was.

---

David Resnick
dpresnick@gmail.com
Co-Host, Talkin' Smack
8-10am Saturday on Z89, 89.1fm

Heather Bragman / The Post-StandardSU lacrosse coach John Desko talks to his team during a fall practice.

Syracuse men's lacrosse coach John Desko, who picked up his fourth national title as head coach last spring, headlined the class of 2008 at the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame inductions on Monday night.

» CBS 5 Video: See what Desko had to say about his induction

SU senior lacrosse star charged with DWI

Jim Commentucci / The Post-StandardSyracuse midfielder Dan Hardy.

According to reports in the Daily Orange and Inside Lacrosse, an official in the Syracuse Athletics department has confirmed that Syracuse senior midfielder Dan Hardy was arrested on October 4 for driving while intoxicated.

Coach Desko said he is aware of the situation, but refused to comment further.

» Read more on the arrest: Daily Orange | Inside Lacrosse

With the conclusion of fall sports and the start of the winter season, Manley Field House is buzzing -- off-season workouts, pre-season conditioning and practices keeps the complex constantly busy.

While the football team continues to struggle and Boeheim's boys fail to live up to expectations, it's easy to forget that it's the men's lacrosse team that provides the best chance to win a title each year.

The 2008 fall ball season is over and many questions still remain even after a weekend of scrimmages.

The box score provides proof that even after graduating a talented senior class, the team will find ways to score goals (what else is new?). Steven Keogh appears primed to step into a more prominent role and Chris Daniello seems ready to take the next step in his development.

But those numbers don't answer the most important question -- who is going to replace Mike Leveille?

You can't be the Michael Jordan of lacrosse without at least one comeback, right?

It's been well documented that Gary Gait is making the transition from coaching on the sidelines to once again playing in between the lines.

This came as a surprise to many, but top athletes are just wired in a way I could never comprehend -- their drive for competition, their thirst for victory and their desire for playing against the best in the world even when their age says they can't.

Z89's Tim Swartz caught up with Gait earlier this week to discuss his return. After the jump is the interview heard on Z89's Talkin Smack.