BALTIMORE – For three-and-a-half quarters, Michael Powell loomed quietly, a silent assassin waiting to strike. The most prolific scorer in Syracuse men’s lacrosse history – playing in his final game with a national championship at stake – worked furiously behind the net, trying anything to free himself from the grips of Navy’s defense – the top defense in the country.

Whenever Powell got near the net, Navy goalie Matt Russell seemed to stand in the way. Still, Powell managed to keep his teammates involved, striking for four assists before the third quarter’s end.

Then, the inevitable happened – Powell took over the game. With 3:37 remaining, Powell rushed the net from near midfield and delivered a perfect pass to Brian Nee which he deposited for a 13-12 lead. Then, just more than two minutes later, Powell tallied the game winner off a fast break, three-on-one pass from Nee.

That goal-the last of SU’s season and the last of Powell’s remarkable career – gave the Orange a 14-13 victory over Navy at rainy M&T Bank Stadium on Monday and SU’s ninth NCAA Championship.

For Powell, Nee and three other SU senior starters, it capped one of the greatest four-year runs in Syracuse lacrosse history. The group has been to the Final Four four times, played in three national championship games and now has two national titles. The title is SU’s third since 2000.

‘It’s been a great ride with these guys,’ head coach John Desko said. ‘We’ve won a couple national championships. I’ve had a lot of fun with these guys. To have the team we have and to play against the teams we’ve played – we didn’t take any shortcuts to get here. I’m proud of them.’

Though Powell, who won Most Outstanding Player, claimed he had a bad game, he managed to lead all scorers with six points. While he struggled to put the ball in the net, he constantly drew double-teams and then used his innate ability to find open teammates. His passing and the overwhelming attention he drew from the Midshipmen defense led to two other SU players – Nee and Brian Crockett – tallying hat tricks.

Navy outshot SU (44-40), had less turnovers (15-19), recovered more groundballs (60-39) and won more face-offs (20-10). Still, the Midshipmen (15-3) failed to take control of the game.

‘They shot well from outside,’ Navy coach Richie Meade said. ‘We may have picked up more groundballs but weren’t as efficient with them. It doesn’t do any good if you pick up a groundball and then it goes back on the ground.’

Several times, SU (15-2) had chances to finish off the Midshipmen early but lacked the final knock-out blow. Up 7-5 in the second quarter, the Orange allowed two late goals and went to the locker room even with Navy. Up, 10-8, at the end of the third quarter, Powell missed an empty net when he rushed his shot and clanged it off the post.

Still, SU managed to escape. In the end, the seniors’ experience showed. Several times in the game’s waning minutes, SU invited Navy to steal the title. But the inexperienced Midshipmen, playing in their first NCAA Tournament since 1999, refused to take advantage of their chances.

Down, 13-12, Billy Looney threw an errant pass that led to Powell’s fast-break goal. Then, down, 14-12, with less than a minute to go, Ian Dingman wasted precious seconds before putting in Navy’s final goal. Syracuse then gave Navy one more chance, turning the ball over with 10 seconds left. Looney came up short again, his shot blocked aside by junior Jarett Park.

For Powell, who along with Nee, Sean Lindsay, Jay Pfeifer, Kevin Dougherty and Dan DiPietro earned All-Tournament honors, it marked the perfect ending to his SU – and possibly his entire – lacrosse career. After the game he said he planned to take the summer off and decide his future plans. He said he would like to play again eventually, though.

‘To end my career by scoring the last goal and to win by one in the national championship,’ Powell said, ‘I mean Hollywood should probably buy that.’

Published on May 31, 2004 at 12:00 pm