June 3, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Orange county

by Andy Vogt/

Pat Perritt (1), Kenny Nims (10) and Matt Abbott (3) celebrate Syracuse's second straight NCAA championship at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., on May 25. (photo: Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Pat Perritt (1), Kenny Nims (10) and Matt Abbott (3) celebrate Syracuse's second straight NCAA championship at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., on May 25. (photo: Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

For all the drama that was lacking from the NCAA Division 1 semifinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., the battle waged between Syracuse and Cornell on Memorial Day in front of nearly 42,000 fans made up for the semifinal snoozers in spades.

When Dan Hardy fed Cody Jamieson for the game-winning overtime tally that sent the Orange to a 10-9 victory and their second consecutive NCAA title (11th overall), the tournament’s second go-round in Foxboro came to a most enjoyable close. Attendance figures were down this year — paid attendance at the championship was 41,935, as opposed to 48,970 for last year’s final between the Orange and Johns Hopkins. And total attendance for the three-day weekend was down 13 percent, from 2008’s 118,085 to this year’s 102,601.

But tournament executive director Phil Buttafuoco insisted that the NCAA has been pleased with how the championships have been received in the area over the last two years, and that other recent sporting events haven’t been immune to dwindling attendance figures.

“I’ve got a real good feel with where people are at with the economy,” said Buttafuoco, citing this year’s draw at the Preakness Stakes as being 30 percent lower than in previous years.

Buttafuoco also said the close proximity between the two competing schools in the title game may have also affected the draw, as their fan bases largely overlap, and big draws like youth lacrosse groups are coming from the same area.

“We’ve done this the last two years with no team closer than a six-hour drive,” he said. “That’s a real good indicator of the sport of lacrosse here in New England and what’s going on here.”

The most important part of having the championships in a new area, he said, is how it can impact the sport’s growth with kids just beginning to play.

“The local boys and girls at the youth level, but also at the high school level, can see lacrosse at the top tier. They can now aspire to continue playing and see what’s possible,” he said.

Plenty of dreams were realized for a bevy of local players. Close to 50 athletes with ties to the six New England states were on the rosters of the eight teams at Gillette over the weekend. That list incudes Stephen Keogh (a Toronto native who prepped at New Hampshire’s Brewster Academy), who played a key role in Syracuse’s championship with his scoring and passing.

Meanwhile, Cornell had nine players from New England or regional prep schools on its roster.

“It’s definitely a pleasure to play in these facilities, after watching football champions play on this field,” said Cornell defenseman Andrew MacDonald of Longmeadow, Mass., who had a large supporting contingent in the stands.

Tournament organizers have undertaken significant efforts to make the weekend’s festivities attractive, beyond the action on the field. Patriot Place was bustling all weekend with a fireworks display, youth clinics and live music. And at least after the first day of play, that appeared to be as exciting as the actual lacrosse, with Syracuse steamrolling Duke, 17-7, and Cornell routing top-seeded Virginia, 15-6.

But the action picked up on the middle day, with C.W. Post and Cortland State notching exciting victories in the Division 2 and 3 championships, followed by the Orange and Big Red staging an epic battle in the finale. Cornell seemed poised for its first national title since 1977 when it held a 9-6 lead with just under four minutes to play. But goals by Stephen Keogh (who prepped at New Hampshire’s Brewster Academy) and Jamieson gave the large group of Syracuse faithful hope, and Kenny Nims sent them into a frenzy with his tying goal with four seconds left in regulation.

“We knew if we dug deep and made strong shots, we could come back,” said Matt Abbott, a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist who set up Nims’ goal with a jaw-dropping, over-the-shoulder desperation pass.

For the next two years, the championships will be held at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, which also hosted in 2003, 2004 and 2007. Area lacrosse fans won’t have to wait too long, however, with the NCAA already deciding on Gillette for the 2012 title games.

“We’ll take our learnings from the past two years, and what [Baltimore] does for two years, and make 2012 even better,” Buttafuoco said.
 

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