University of Massachusets Athletics
Lacrosse Makes Another Run To NCAAs
June 25, 2003 | Men's Lacrosse
June 25, 2003
The 2003 edition of the University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse team was one of the most successful in the elite program's impressive history. Coming into the season, UMass knew it would have a target on its back. The Minutemen didn't disappoint making another deep run into the NCAA Tournament.
"We had a great season, and we accomplished many of the goals we set in the preseason," said Head Coach Greg Cannella. "We were led by our seven terrific seniors (Chris Fiore, Kevin Leveille, Tom Fallon, Andy Kerr, Terrence Riley, Derek Kunkel and Matt Latchford) who really provided this team with the leadership that we needed all season."
In the preseason polls and predictions, UMass showed what kind of season was expected of it. The Minutemen were ranked eighth in the USILA Preseason Coaches Poll, and three seniors earned spots on the preseason All-ECAC team. Kevin Leveille was selected as the ECAC Preseason Player of the Year and he was joined on the preseason team by Chris Fiore and Tom Fallon. The trio were also each named to a preseason All-America squad by Inside Lacrosse magazine. Meanwhile, the Minutemen were picked second in the ECAC poll, behind rival Georgetown, in what would become the country's toughest conference.
The highly-regarded Minutemen took to the field for the first time on Feb. 22, and battling torrential rains, UMass defeated Sacred Heart, 13-7 in the season opener. Fiore scored a season-high five goals and a career-high six points, and junior Jeff Zywicki notched his first career hat trick.
UMass then unleashed its powerful offensive onslaught on March 1, with a 17-7 defeat of Stony Brook. The Minutemen stormed out of the gates, scoring four goals seven minutes into the game, and led 8-4 at halftime. The Minutemen then led 14-6 after three quarters and cruised to the win. Leveille had a career day, scoring a career-best 10 points on a career high of seven goals and three assists to pace the Minutemen. The 10 points and seven goals were the nation's top total in those respective categories, and earned Leveille the ECAC's first weekly Player of the Week honor. Fiore added four in the victory and Zywicki tallied two goals and three assists. The trio of Leveille, Fiore and Zywicki combined for 13 goals and six assists in the triumph over Stony Brook, showing that the triumverate was going to be a challenge for opposing defense's all year long.
After the second game of the season, Leveille earned one of the nation's top honors, when he was announced one of 16 finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the nation's top player. He was UMass' first-ever player to be nominated for the award. The Minutemen were then faced with their stiffest challenge of the young season on March 8, when ninth-ranked Navy came to Amherst in the ECAC opener for both teams. Navy jumped out to a 5-2 lead late in the second quarter, but UMass rattled off seven of the game's next eight goals to take a 9-6 lead into the fourth quarter. Navy rallied to knot the game at nine, when Zywicki found the back of the cage with just 2:46 left to give UMass a 10-9 advantage. The Minutemen were then forced to sweat out the final seconds, as a Navy shot clanged off the goalpost with two seconds left to secure the Minutemen's third win of the year.
Freshman Sean Morris, playing in his first career game after sitting out last season after transferring from Rutgers, scored three goals and Fiore and Zywicki tallied two each. Morris was named ECAC Rookie of the Week for his efforts.
The Minutemen put on their best offensive showing of the season the next weekend against Brown. After falling behind 2-0 early in the game, UMass scored four goals in a one-minute, 31-second span to take control of the game. When it was all said and done, the Minutemen had gone on an 8-0 run, spanning just over 12 minutes. UMass led 10-3 at halftime, and scored a season-high 18 goals in an 18-6 triumph.
Three players, Gene Tundo, Sean Morris and Ryan Connolly, tallied hat tricks, and four others netted two goals in the win. Zywicki led the way for the Minutemen with six points (2 g, 4 a), in leading UMass to its 10th straight home win, longest in Garber Field history.
The home win streak ran to 11 with a 15-5 victory over NCAA Tournament participant Albany. This time it was the Jeff Zywicki show as he scored nine points (7 g, 2 a) to lead the Minutemen to the easy win. The seven goals tied teammate Leveille for nation-high honors this season. Leveille also distributed a career high and nation's-best six assists in the contest.
In the final of six straight home games to start the season, UMass defeated Hartford, 14-3. Balance was again the key as six different players scored at least two goals, and Zywicki led UMass again with four points (2 g, 2 a). The Minuteman defense was solid again, holding the Hawks to a season-low three goals.
The Minutemen took to the road for the first time all season on March 23, and continued their red-hot play with a 14-7 triumph over regional rival Hofstra. UMass jumped out to a 7-2 halftime lead and held off a late Hofstra charge to claim the victory. Zywicki scored five goals and an assist and Fiore added three for the Minutemen. Neil Lundberg ran out the last six minutes of the game, playing keep-away to stop any Hofstra rally. Zywicki was named ECAC Player of the Week and Dinn Brothers / UMass Athlete of the Week after his amazing week. The junior scored 19 points over the three-game span, including 15 in a two-game span, which marked the second-highest point total for a two-game stretch in school history. To this point in the season, Zywicki was the nation's leading scorer with 36 points already.
The nation's longest winning streak came to a halt the following weekend as Penn State dominated possession and defeated the Minutemen, 11-10. The game featured 10 ties and neither team led by more than one goal during the contest. UMass led 6-5 after one quarter, but both teams then put on the defensive clamps and found goals hard to come by. Penn State scored the game-winning goal with 3:25 to play, and a late Zywicki shot sailed just wide of the cage in the waning moments, which would have sent the game to overtime. Zywicki led the Minutemen for the sixth straight game with five points (2 g, 3 a).
The Minutemen got back on their winning ways with an 11-8 road victory over UMBC the following week. UMass struggled early in the contest, but went on a 6-0 run in the second quarter to take control of the contest. Chris Fiore scored three goals and three others scored twice to pace the Minutemen. Goalie Bill Schell had one of his best days of the year, stopping 15 shots to guide UMass' defensive effort. Fiore was selected as ECAC Offensive Player of the Week and Schell was named Defensive Player of the Week for their efforts.
The Minutemen returned home the following weekend and responded with a tough 12-10 victory over Yale. UMass jumped out to a 3-0 lead, watched Yale tie the game five minutes into the second quarter, then went on a 5-1 run to close the half for a 8-4 halftime advantage. Yale rallied to tie the game at eight, but Kevin Glenz iced the game away with a goal with seven minutes left for a 12-10 decision. Kevin Leveille scored four points (2 g, 2 a) to lead UMass. Leveille was honored as Dinn Brothers / UMass Athlete of the Week.
After an 11-6 win over Harvard, in which Fiore tallied his 100th career point, the Minutemen knocked off the nation's lone undefeated squad, No. 3-ranked Georgetown, 11-8. UMass never trailed in the contest in running to its 11th win of the year. Georgetown had narrowed the lead to 8-6, but freshman Steven Byrnes scored just six seconds later to push the lead back to three goals. Zywicki scored four times for UMass and Schell made 14 saves. Zywicki won ECAC Player of the Week honors and Morris was named Rookie of the Week after scoring a career-best four points.
The Minutemen then ended 21 years of frustration the following week with a 14-13 overtime victory over Syracuse at rainy Garber Field. A crowd of 2,362 braved torrential rain to witness a classic UMass victory. UMass jumped out to a 4-1 lead, before Syracuse tied the game at 4-4. Chris Doyle completed a first-half hat trick for an 8-6 UMass halftime advantage. The Orangemen then dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Minutemen 4-1 for a 10-9 lead heading into the final 15 minutes. But UMass scored the next three goals and led 13-12 late in the game, when Syracuse notched an EMO goal with just five seconds to play to send the game into overtime. Syracuse won the face-off, but couldn't get a shot off, and when Jeff Zywicki's shot rocketed past the Syracuse goalie into the top right corner with 1:10 to play in overtime, the Minutemen faithful stormed the field. It was Zywicki's only goal of the day. Schell made 16 saves for the Minutemen. Leveille was named ECAC Player of the Week after scoring four points (3 g, 1 a) in the win, and Schell was selected as Dinn Brothers / UMass Athlete of the Week.
"We were able to win the big games because the team played together, was unselfish and really supported each other," said Cannella. "The two biggest wins, Georgetown and Syracuse, were probably the two games that propelled us into the NCAA Tournament."
Rutgers ended UMass' bid for three straight ECAC titles the following week after defeating the Minutemen, 12-9. The Scarlet Knights dominated the contest, taking a 9-5 halftime lead and led 12-6 early in the fourth quarter. The Minutemen cut the lead to 12-9, but could get no closer.
The next day, May 4, it was announced that UMass would host Hofstra in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Garber Field.
In the week leading up to the NCAA Tournament, Fiore joined teammate Kevin Leveille as a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award and was named the ECAC Player of the Year. He was joined on the All-ECAC first team by Leveille, Zywicki and Matt Garcia. Freshman Jack Reid was named All-ECAC second team. Kevin Leveille was selected as the New England Player of the Year and was joined on the first team by Fiore, Zywicki and Fallon. Schell, Reid and Garcia were named to the second team and Glenz was honorable mention.
Following the week of honors, the Minutemen took to the field and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second straight year with a 9-6 decision over Hofstra. The two teams battled to a 4-4 halftime deadlock, but the Minutemen outscored the Pride, 4-1, in the third quarter to take control and used a dominating defensive effort to advance to the next round. Face-off man Dane Collins won 13-of-19 face-offs, and Kevin Leveille scored three second-half goals to pace the Minutemen. The win was the 13th for UMass, which tied a school record. Leveille earned Dinn Brothers / UMass Athlete of the Week.
UMass' dream of reaching its first-ever final four appearance ended the next week with a 13-7 defeat to Maryland. The Minutemen jumped out to a 2-0 lead three minutes into the game, but the Terps dominated the rest of the game, and led 6-4 at halftime. UMass could get no closer the rest of the way and the Minutemen ended their season at 13-3. However, the honors continued to pour in for several Minutemen. Fiore was named first team All-America, becoming UMass' first first-team selection since Mark Millon in 1993. Leveille earned second-team recognition after scoring a career-best 51 points. It marked the third year that Leveille earned All-America status, and he finished 11th on the all-time UMass charts with 159 points. Zywicki, who was one of the nation's top scorers with 62 points, was a third-team selection. Zywicki needs eight points for 100 in his career. Garcia, a sophomore, was named honorable mention after scooping up 35 ground balls.
"On every team, you need the older, accomplished players to step up and have big years, but you need several others to play well too," said Cannella. "Several underclassmen in every class had great seasons. We feel very fortunate to have gotten contributions from a lot of players that are going to help us down the road."
Fiore and Leveille were both selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game. The game features 10 All-Americans and is a showcase for the top senior players in the country. In the 44 years of the game, 67 UMass players have been selected to participate.
Lastly, the trio of Fiore, Leveille and Fallon were selected in the Major League Lacrosse college draft. Fiore was the third overall selection by the Boston Cannons, making him the highest selection ever from UMass. Leveille was taken ninth by the Cannons and Tom Fallon was selected in the fifth round by the Bridgeport Barrage.
Although three of the most decorated players in school history are departing, the Minutemen appear to be on solid ground entering next year. UMass has posted a 37-9 record over the last three years, the best record of any team in the country over that span. The tradition will continue next year with another solid team.
