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From Press Release

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – No. 3 Syracuse (8-1) lit up the big stage, using a 9-0 run to fuel a 13-4 victory against  No. 5 Princeton (7-2) in front of an NCAA regular-season record crowd for a lacrosse-only event (25,710) at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at New Meadowlands Stadium on Saturday, April 10.

SU’s matchup against the Tigers was the nightcap of a tripleheader that included four of the top five teams in Division I men’s lacrosse and was the first sporting event to take place at the new home of the NFL’s Giants and Jets.

A pair of Orange men had the best games of their careers Saturday. SeniorCody Jamieson led the way with a career-best five points (4g, 1a) and freshmanJoJo Marasco, who registered his first career hat trick with three goals. Redshirt sophomore Tim Desko matched his personal bests with two goals.

The Orange also received stellar defensive performances from junior John Lade, who shut down Princeton scoring leader Jack McBride (two assists), and junior goalie John Galloway, who allowed just one goal, while stopping 11 shots in 49:40 of action.

Syracuse held the Tigers without a goal for 31:30 during the course of the game, the longest scoreless stretch for an Orange opponent this season, and Princeton was shut out in in both the first and third quarters.

The Orange dominated both sides of the ball from the opening faceoff. It took control of the game with goals by Marasco and junior Josh Amidon in the first quarter and never trailed. One of the keys was the the Orange’s man-down defense. Syracuse was short-handed for 3:30 in the first quarter, but the defense killed all four of Princeton’s man-up chances. Galloway was sharp from the outset, making five saves in the quarter to blank the Tigers heading into the second period.

Senior Al Cavalieri entered the game when Galloway was called for slashing and allowed Princeton’s first goal 30 seconds into the second quarter. The Tigers got within one again at 3-2 after a goal by Mike Chanenchuk with 9:26 left in the firs half, but that didn’t seem to faze the Orange, which scored the next goals of the game to tame the Tigers for good.

Junior Jeremy Thompson proved, yet again, that he was a force coming off the faceoff X as he pushed it out to himself and fed it to Jamieson to make the score 4-2 with 9:20 remaining. Desko put in another just 13 seconds later to make it a three-goal cushion, 5-2.

And the Orange was just getting started.

It went on to score two more goals before the intermission, including a nifty between-the-legs shot just in front of the crease by Desko to make it a 7-2 game at the break.

Jamieson came to life in the second half, scoring Syracuse’s first three goals of the third quarter to help put the game away. Marasco tacked on two more to give the Orange the 10-goal lead (12-2) with two seconds left in the period.

The Tigers scored twice on Cavalieri in the final period to outscore the Orange, 2-1, in the quarter and produce the final score.

Chanenchuk paced the Tigers with two goals, while Forest Sonnenfeldt and Scott Mackenzie contributed one each.

The Orange faces No. 10 Cornell in a rematch of last year’s national championship game on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. The contest will be televised live in the Syracuse area on Time Warner Cable Sports.

Game Notes: Jamieson was selected as the player of the game in a vote by the media … Syracuse is 17-9 all-time against Princeton … Head coach John Deskois 35-9 against Ivy League teams in his career … The victory was SU’s fourth consecutive against a ranked opponent and first against a top five team since it defeated No. 3 Cornell on April 7, 2009 … Junior Stephen Keogh extended his point-scoring streak to 31 games with an assist in the second quarter, but his 27-game goal-scoring streak came to an end against the Tigers … Galloway recorded his 400th career save in the contest and now has 404 in 44 career games … Sophomore Kevin Drew saw his first action Saturday since being injured at Virginia on March 7 … Desko also returned against Princeton after missing SU’s last four games due to injury … Princeton’s four goals were its fewest of the season … Saturday marked the first time since April 23, 2000 that the Orange held a top-five team to four goals or less (Princeton, 4).