Virginia Wins NCAA Men's Lacrosse Title

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May 31, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Virginia ended 26 years of frustration as the Cavaliers defeated Syracuse, 12-10, for the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championship at Byrd Stadium. The Cavaliers (13-3) won their first championship since 1972. They had reached the championship game four times since then and lost in overtime each time. Syracuse (12-5) was bidding to win its seventh NCAA championship and become the first No. 8 seed in tournament history to win the championship.

Syracuse nearly took the game into overtime as the Orangemen scored five consecutive fourth quarter goals to close to within 10-9 with 3:36 remaining. Virginia then received goals from freshman attackman Conor Gill (Timonium, Md.) and senior midfielder Henry Oakey (Charlottesville, Va.) in a 21-second span with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Syracuse outscored Virginia, 7-4, in the second half.

Sophomore Hanley Holcomb (Ridgewood, N.J.) led Virginia with three goals. Junior attackman Drew McKnight (Virginia Beach, Va.), senior midfielder Michael Leahy (Camillus, N.Y.) and Oakey scored two goals each for Virginia. Virginia’s Gill, who was named the most outstanding player of the NCAA men’s lacrosse championship, scored one goal and added three assists.

Junior attackman Ryan Powell (West Carthage, N.Y.), senior attackman Matt Cutia (Homer, N.Y.) and junior midfielder Tim Byrnes (Baldwin, N.Y.) scored two goals each for the Orangemen. Powell added two assists to pace Syracuse with four total points.

Joining Virginia’s Gill on the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship team were: Ryan Curtis (Virginia), Derek Kenney (Virginia), Jay Jalbert (Virginia), Tucker Radebaugh (Virginia), Court Weisleder (Virginia), Dan Denihan (Johns Hopkins), Marshall Abrams (Syracuse), Ryan Powell (Syracuse) and Scott Urick (Georgetown).

GAME SCORINGSyracuse Orangemen  2   1   1   6   --  10Virginia Cavaliers  5   3   1   3   --  12

Qtr Time Team Goal Assist Score1 13:43 Syracuse Brian Solliday Matt Caione S, 1-01 12:47 Virginia Henry Oakey None 1-11 10:29 Virginia Michael Leahy None V, 2-11 8:43 Virginia Hanley Holcomb None V, 3-11 7:56 Virginia Drew McKnight None V, 4-11 4:45 Virginia Jay Jalbert None V, 5-11 1:24 Syracuse Liam Banks Ryan Powell V, 5-22 14:13 Virginia Hanley Holcomb None V, 6-22 12:00 Virginia Drew McKnight Jay Jalbert V, 7-22 5:11 Syracuse Tim Byrnes None V, 7-32 2:07 Virginia Michael Leahy Conor Gill V, 8-33 6:39 Virginia Tucker Radebaugh Drew McKnight V, 9-33 1:12 Syracuse Josh Coffman Matt Caione V, 9-44 13:28 Virginia Hanley Holcomb Tucker Radebaugh V, 10-44 12:21 Syracuse Ryan Powell Matt Cutia V, 10-54 10:41 Syracuse Jeff Cordisco Liam Banks V, 10-64 7:13 Syracuse Matt Cutia Liam Banks V, 10-74 6:30 Syracuse Ryan Powell None V, 10-84 3:36 Syracuse Tim Byrnes None V, 10-94 2:59 Virginia Conor Gill None V, 11-94 2:38 Virginia Henry Oakey Conor Gill V, 12-94 0:48 Syracuse Matt Cutia Ryan Powell V, 12-10

TEAM STATSCategory Syracuse VirginiaShots 11-10-11-14=46 11-6-8-8=33Saves 0-2-5-4=11 1-3-4-4=11Face-Offs 11/23 12/23Groundballs 14-16-17-15=62 21-12-15-13=61Clears 22/28 17/20Extra-Man Opp. 0/7 2/6Penalties 6/5:30 7/5:00

INDIVIDUAL SCORINGSyracuse Goals-Asst.-Pts.Ryan Powell 2-2-4Matt Cutia 2-1-3Liam Banks 1-2-3Tim Byrnes 2-0-2Matt Caione 0-2-2Brian Solliday 1-0-1Josh Coffman 1-0-1Jeff Cordisco 1-0-1

Virginia Goals-Asst.-Pts.Conor Gill 1-3-4Hanley Holcomb 3-0-3Drew McKnight 2-0-2Michael Leahy 2-0-2Henry Oakey 2-0-2Jay Jalbert 1-1-2Tucker Radebaugh 1-1-2

GOALIESSyracuse Saves GA Min.Rob Mulligan 11 12 58:51Bob Rust 0 0 1:09

Virginia Saves GA Min.Derek Kenney 12 10 60:00

BYRD STADIUM (College Park, Md.)ATTENDANCE: 24,135