SYRACUSE -- The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team will conclude its fall practice season with the first Orange Alumni Classic at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Oct. 9. The current Orange team will take on a star-studded group of SU lacrosse alums in a regulation contest beginning at 3 p.m.The alumni game is open to the public. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased online at SUAthletics.com, over the phone (1-888-DOMETIX), or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office. All proceeds will go directly to the men’s lacrosse program. Gates A, B and C at the Dome will open at 2 p.m. Parking is free.
Led by five-time NCAA champion and 13-year head coach John Desko, the 2010-11 Orange began fall practice Sept. 13. Syracuse is coming off a 13-2 season in which it won the inaugural BIG EAST regular-season title before being upset by Army in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s team features a talented bunch of seniors led by All-Americans Stephen Keogh (Toronto, Ontario), Jovan Miller (Syracuse, N.Y.) John Lade (Randolph, N.J.), John Galloway (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Joel White (Cortland, N.Y.).
Its opponent is a group of Orange lacrosse legends coached by Paul Carcaterra ’97. Recent alums such as 2008 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Mike Leveille ’08, Matt Abbott ’09 and Kenny Nims ‘09 are expected to compete. In addition, several stars from the 1980s and 90s are on the roster, including current SU women’s coach Gary Gait ’90, Casey Powell ’98, Ric Beardsley ’95 and Matt Palumb ’90.
Syracuse owns a Division I record 11 NCAA national championships and thirty-four of the 35 players on the alumni roster were members of at least one national title-winning team. In addition, Gait, Leveille, Powell and John Glatzel ’02 have all won world championships. Gait with Team Canada (2006) and Leveille (2010), Powell (1998) and Glatzel (2002) with the United States.
“It was clear to me that some of the greatest players to ever play this sport were former Orange stars, many of whom are still in the prime of their careers,” Carcaterra said. “To connect legends of the past with current players who are creating their own legacy is an amazing opportunity. To have this level of talent on one field in the Dome is unprecedented.”
Courtesy: SU Athletics
