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03-04-2005, 02:36 PM
By DAVE CURTIS
Inside Lacrosse Magazine Senior Writer
Sometimes she hears it at a camp while checking out the next crop of players she plans to harvest. Sometimes it’s in a casual phone conversation that may not focus on lacrosse.
Inevitably, someone will ask Syracuse coach Lisa Miller the question that has defined her coaching career in Central New York as much as any other accomplishment.
What’s your secret against Virginia?
“I just think style-wise, we play a similar game,” Miller said when asked earlier this week. “Our kids love to play them. The last three years, it’s come down to the last possession.”
The last three years, the Orange have squeaked past the higher-ranked, more tradition-filled Cavaliers, including twice at Klockner Field. So when the teams meet Saturday at the Carrier Dome, SU’s seniors will shoot for a four-year sweep of the national power, while Virginia’s fourth years don’t want to get skunked.
“We’re all looking forward to that game,” Virginia attacker Amy Appelt said over the winter. “It’s up there, and thinking of that place brings back bad memories (of a 2003 NCAA Title Game loss). So we’ll be fired up for them.”
Miller and Cavs coach Julie Myers started the series in 1999, and Virginia won the first two meetings by a combined 31-11 score. In preparing for the games, and breaking down the losses, Miller watched a team on film that she wanted squad to someday resemble—quick and cohesive. And a group that thought it could 20 goals in every game.
“When we started (in 1999), Maryland was the team that everybody chased,” she said. “But parity’s hit a little bit. And now, Virginia is kind of that team. For us, they’ve always been right there.”
In the 2000 game, a 16-5 Cavs home win, Miller said she thought her team possessed the skills to challenge Virginia. But it wouldn’t be until two years later, back at Klockner, when the Orange stunned Virginia 12-10, joining Princeton and Maryland as the lone teams to top the Cavs that regular season.
“(Those blowouts) had stuck with the kids their entire time with us,” Miller said. “That was our first big win over a Top 5 program, and it helped us a lot.”
Syracuse’s last two wins have come by a goal, each as shocking as the first. But a fourth straight would rank as most surprising, given Virginia’s No. 1 ranking and SU’s search to replace the graduated Leigh-Ann Zimmer’s scoring.
A fourth straight would mean even more questions for coach Miller.
**
The search for this week’s top Division I rivalry ends in … New Hampshire? Dartmouth and UNH meet Saturday in Hanover as the two preeminent programs in Northern New England, each hoping to profit from the sport’s boom in the region.
The teams met twice a year ago, with Dartmouth winning the season opener 10-5 and bouncing UNH from the first round of the NCAAs with a 14-12 victory. But the rise of the Wildcats, coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991, may reverse those results soon.
Heck, this could become a chillier version of Duke-North Carolina, with a private school and a public school clashing for state bragging rights and an advantage come NCAA selection time.
Of course, Dartmouth may own one of the nation’s biggest advantages in All-American goalie Devon Wills. But a strong offense behind Wildcats’ scorers Jess Burnap and Katie Leland may give edge to the America East co-favorites, who have lost at Dartmouth early in the season each of the last five seasons.
**
The West Coast can add to its early-season lacrosse legitimacy Sunday afternoon when Stanford meets Georgetown in Palo Alto, Calif.
Last week, Cal sat tied at James Madison with five minutes to play before Emily Haller’s goal gave the Dukes an 11-10 victory. The MPSF’s other strong team now gets its crack against a Hoyas team with a new look under first-year head coach Ricky Fried.
The Cardinal started the season with three straight conference wins, but its defense was rarely challenged. That changes this week, when a Stanford roster featuring three seniors deals with the Georgetown’s three-pronged scoring punch of Sarah Oliphant, Coco Stanwick and Catherine Elbe.
Inside Lacrosse Magazine Senior Writer
Sometimes she hears it at a camp while checking out the next crop of players she plans to harvest. Sometimes it’s in a casual phone conversation that may not focus on lacrosse.
Inevitably, someone will ask Syracuse coach Lisa Miller the question that has defined her coaching career in Central New York as much as any other accomplishment.
What’s your secret against Virginia?
“I just think style-wise, we play a similar game,” Miller said when asked earlier this week. “Our kids love to play them. The last three years, it’s come down to the last possession.”
The last three years, the Orange have squeaked past the higher-ranked, more tradition-filled Cavaliers, including twice at Klockner Field. So when the teams meet Saturday at the Carrier Dome, SU’s seniors will shoot for a four-year sweep of the national power, while Virginia’s fourth years don’t want to get skunked.
“We’re all looking forward to that game,” Virginia attacker Amy Appelt said over the winter. “It’s up there, and thinking of that place brings back bad memories (of a 2003 NCAA Title Game loss). So we’ll be fired up for them.”
Miller and Cavs coach Julie Myers started the series in 1999, and Virginia won the first two meetings by a combined 31-11 score. In preparing for the games, and breaking down the losses, Miller watched a team on film that she wanted squad to someday resemble—quick and cohesive. And a group that thought it could 20 goals in every game.
“When we started (in 1999), Maryland was the team that everybody chased,” she said. “But parity’s hit a little bit. And now, Virginia is kind of that team. For us, they’ve always been right there.”
In the 2000 game, a 16-5 Cavs home win, Miller said she thought her team possessed the skills to challenge Virginia. But it wouldn’t be until two years later, back at Klockner, when the Orange stunned Virginia 12-10, joining Princeton and Maryland as the lone teams to top the Cavs that regular season.
“(Those blowouts) had stuck with the kids their entire time with us,” Miller said. “That was our first big win over a Top 5 program, and it helped us a lot.”
Syracuse’s last two wins have come by a goal, each as shocking as the first. But a fourth straight would rank as most surprising, given Virginia’s No. 1 ranking and SU’s search to replace the graduated Leigh-Ann Zimmer’s scoring.
A fourth straight would mean even more questions for coach Miller.
**
The search for this week’s top Division I rivalry ends in … New Hampshire? Dartmouth and UNH meet Saturday in Hanover as the two preeminent programs in Northern New England, each hoping to profit from the sport’s boom in the region.
The teams met twice a year ago, with Dartmouth winning the season opener 10-5 and bouncing UNH from the first round of the NCAAs with a 14-12 victory. But the rise of the Wildcats, coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991, may reverse those results soon.
Heck, this could become a chillier version of Duke-North Carolina, with a private school and a public school clashing for state bragging rights and an advantage come NCAA selection time.
Of course, Dartmouth may own one of the nation’s biggest advantages in All-American goalie Devon Wills. But a strong offense behind Wildcats’ scorers Jess Burnap and Katie Leland may give edge to the America East co-favorites, who have lost at Dartmouth early in the season each of the last five seasons.
**
The West Coast can add to its early-season lacrosse legitimacy Sunday afternoon when Stanford meets Georgetown in Palo Alto, Calif.
Last week, Cal sat tied at James Madison with five minutes to play before Emily Haller’s goal gave the Dukes an 11-10 victory. The MPSF’s other strong team now gets its crack against a Hoyas team with a new look under first-year head coach Ricky Fried.
The Cardinal started the season with three straight conference wins, but its defense was rarely challenged. That changes this week, when a Stanford roster featuring three seniors deals with the Georgetown’s three-pronged scoring punch of Sarah Oliphant, Coco Stanwick and Catherine Elbe.