Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 1 The Marathon Men are Born

It was a game to end all games. A contest to be remembered for decades. A match that inspired a t-shirt bought by the truckloads.

Six overtimes in Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament.

That fragment of a sentence stands out more than almost everything any player or coach could say after the game. Jim Boeheim put the game into perfect perspective when he said the only things people will ever remember about the 2009 season is this game and how Syracuse performs in the NCAA Tournament.

The Orange would win again the next day against West Virginia in overtime (just one this time)  in the Big East Tournament Semifinals, but lose to Louisville in the Championship game. Syracuse played 195 minutes of basketball over four days or essentially five games of basketball in four days.

The videos below are the SportsCenter highlights of the game and four minutes of unedited ESPN game footage at the end of regulation. The first link above are to my game story as I was in Madison Square Garden with media credentials. The second link is to a story done by fellow Newshouse correspondent Meghan Lisson who reported for ABC News on Campus about the “Marathon Men” shirt.

Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 2 Lame Duck Coach Greg Robinson Beats Notre Dame

For the four years that Greg Robinson coached the Syracuse Orange, basically everything that could go wrong went wrong.

But for one November Saturday afternoon after Robinson had been notified he wouldn’t been coming to coach SU in 2009, the Orange was on top of the world.

Notre Dame jumped on Syracuse in South Bend, Indiana and took a 23-10 lead into the fourth quarter. The ‘Cuse had one last rally left in it as Cam Dantley and freshman running-back Antwon Bailey led the team back to score two consecutive touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Bailey rushed for a career high 126 yards with most of the yards coming in the fourth quarter during Syracuse’s two touchdown drives. Bailey scampered into the endzone for pay dirt with over 12 minutes left on the clock to cut the Irish lead to 23-17.

The Orange got the ball back for the final time with just under five minutes on the clock; Antwon Bailey went to work once again. The freshman back ran the ball six of out the first seven plays on the drive for 43 yards. His running set up Cam Dantley to connect with Donte Davis for an 11 yard touchdown and the lead.

The Irish missed a field goal as time expired and the ‘Cuse won its third and final game of the 2008 season.

After the game, Greg Robinson showed the nation the respect he has for Notre Dame’s traditions. During a post-game television interview, Robinson stopped the interview when he heard the Notre Dame Alma Mater and made the reporter pause the interview until the Alma Mater was over.

Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 3 Syracuse Reaches the Sweet 16

After two consecutive first round exits and two consecutive NIT bids, the Orange found itself in the NCAA Tournament poised to succeed for the first time since 2004 when Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara led the ‘Cuse into the Sweet 16 before bowing out to Alabama.

The Orange received a favorable draw to reach the Sweet 16 with Stephen F. Austin, a team who has trouble scoring, waiting in the first round and Arizona State, a team that runs a matchup zone which the ‘Cuse excels against, on the docket in the second round.

Behind Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf, the Orange rolled to two victories in Miami that sent the team to Memphis to tip-off with Blake Griffin and Oklahoma.

Oklahoma proved to be a much tougher test in the Sweet 16 as the National Player of the Year, Blake Griffin couldn’t be stopped. The Orange fell behind by 13 at halftime and were fighting to keep the game within 25 for most of the second half before making a late run to lose by only 13 points.

The game proved to be Jonny Flynn’s final game in Orange as the sophomore superstar played his last game for Syracuse. He is foregoing is final two years of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft. Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris have done the same, and they are expected to sign agent leaving no chance they can return for next season.

At least the Orange can take comfort in the fact that Blake Griffin drilled his head on the backboard while dunking.

Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 4 Field Hockey Gets Revenge Against Connecticut

Syracuse’s Field Hockey team began the season 14-0. The only real test standing between coach Ange Bradley’s team and a perfect regular season was heated rival Connecticut who was ranked in the top 10 in the country. The Huskies travelled to Coyne Field and scored the first goal of the contest.

The Orange struck back, but the referees made a controversial call, waving off the goal because they claimed the ball went off a Syracuse player’s foot. The ‘Cuse couldn’t muster up another goal and lost its first and only game of the regular season.

Connecticut and Syracuse were the top teams in the Big East conference and were destined to meet again in the Big East Tournament. In a Championship Game thriller, the ‘Cuse had one last opportunity in the waning seconds of the game to score the first and only goal of the contest. Maggie Befort cashed in a penalty corner the Orange received as time expired.

The win allowed the Orange to enter the National Tournament as an automatic qualifier which the ‘Cuse rode to a Final Four.

A handful of team members excelled in the confernece tournament and were named to the All-Tournament team.

Backs Maggie Befort and Anne-Sophie Van der Post, forward Lindsey Conrad, and goalkeeper Heather Hess made the All-Tournament team.  In addition to being named to the All-Tournament team, middle Shannon Taylor was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.

Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 5 Women’s Ice Hockey Plays First Game

When Athletic Director Darryl Gross took over at Syracuse in 2005, he said he was shocked when he found out the University didn’t have either a male or female varsity hockey team. After a controversial decision to add the women’s ice hockey program as a school sanctioned sport, but at its expense, drop the swimming and diving program, the hockey team was ready to play its first season ever.

The Orange hired Paul Flanagan to lead the ‘Cuse; Flanagan led St. Lawrence University to five Frozen Fours in just nine seasons. In 10 seasons at St. Lawrence, Flanagan amassed an average of 23 wins a year.

Flanagan needed Division I talent in order to have any shot at competing in the team’s first season. He brought in eight transfers from other programs, the most notable being the Orange’s starting goaltender, Lucy Schoedel. She transferred from D-I powerhouse New Hampshire who reached the Frozen Four in 2008.

Lucy Schoedel

With his roster, Flanagan’s team skated with Colgate on October 1st, 2008 for the squad’s inaugural game. It took just nine seconds for freshman Megan Skelley to tally the first goal in program history and give the team its first lead ever.

Another freshman, left winger Janelle Malcolm scored the Orange’s second consecutive goal and it looked for the first 10 minutes SU might win its first game in program history. But Colgate stormed back, scoring the next four goals.

The Raiders went on to win the game 4-3 as Malcolm tallied her second goal in the third period.

The Orange Ice Hockey team went on to finish the season with a record of 10-18-3, but did win six consecutive games after starting the season 4-16-3.

Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 6 Katie Rowan Becomes Big East’s Best

Syracuse University Athletics has produced some of the best athletes to play their game. Football has Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, and Larry Csonka. Men’s Lacrosse has the Powell Brothers and the Gait Brothers. Women’s Lacrosse now has Katie Rowan.

The current SU senior cemented her legacy at the school when on March 14th against Connecticut she broke the Big East Conference scoring record. She has since gone to absolutely obliterate it with her performance this year in-conference. With a 10 point performance in the UConn game, Rowan passed former ‘Cuse All-American Leigh-Ann Zimmer for the top spot all-time.

Rowan has tallied 23 points since the Connecticut game to sit at 120 points in conference games entering her fourth and final Big East Tournament.

The senior attacker also holds the school record for points (287), goals (178), and assists (104). Rowan ranks third in the country all-time in assists after dishing out six of them against Rutgers, the Orange’s latest game.

Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 7 No Love in the Dome on Valentine’s Day

In recent history, Georgetown has made a habit of entering the Carrier Dome and leaving with a lopsided loss. In 2007, the 10th ranked Hoyas were the victim of a 14 loss on Syracuse’s Senior Day as  seniors Terrence Roberts, Darryl Watkins, and Demetris Nichols recorded one the greatest home victories of their careers. Last season, Georgetown invaded the Dome once again ranked in the top 10, but again left with a loss. The Hoyas needed a late run to just get the game into single-digits.

But the 2009 version of the Big East’s best rivalry featured a different ending. The ‘Cuse once again jumped out to a big lead (16 points in the second half), but squandered it quickly away.

Georgetown finally figured out the 2-3 zone defense and scored an astounding 31 points in the final eight minutes of regulation.

This memorable game of 2008-2009 went to overtime where the ‘Cuse took control and stayed undefeated this season in overtimes.

Rivalries tend to bring the best and worst out of fans, and for the Orange faithful, this contest against Georgetown brought out of the worst. First, the runner of the “E” Flag took a tumble.

But that pales in comparison to the actions of the student section on Valentine’s Day. The students pelted rival Georgetown fans with basically anything they could throw. The trashing of the Hoya fans prompted a letter of apology from both Chancellor Nancy Cantor and Otto’s Army, the official student section organization of the University.

For game highlights, check out ESPN.com.

Top Moments of 2008-2009, No. 8 SU Lacrosse Mounts Epic Comeback Against Loyola

The Orange has found itself on the ropes in Loyola in the past as the ‘Cuse rallied for three goals in the final minute in 2007 against the Greyhounds before falling 11-10 in 2007. In that game, then sophomore Dan Hardy had a point-blank shot with only a few ticks on the clock, but couldn’t find the back of the cage.

But in 2009, a similar story would unfold, but conclude with a different ending. Hardy wouldn’t miss the game-winner and the ‘Cuse would escape with a victory.

Loyola had a commanding four-goal lead, 12-8 with eight minutes to play, but the ‘Cuse got the offense rolling when faced with the possibility of losing its second game of the season.

The SU attack features four likely All-Americans and three of those four led the charge against Loyola. The team’s leading scorer Stephen Keogh notched the first two goals of the six goal run. The most consistent attacker on the team, Kenny Nims contributed one of the goals as well.

Senior attacker Dan Hardy, who has dealt with four years of criticism because of off-the-field problems and not living up to the expectations that come with wearing the No. 22 jersey, helped build his legacy with a clutch hat trick in the final six minutes.

The Loyola crowd taunted Hardy the entire game, but the senior trudged through it to score both the game tying and game winning goals.

Image courtesy of the AP.

Top Moments in 2008-2009, No. 9 Jenna Caira Tosses No-Hitter

With almost half the roster spots filled by freshmen, SU Softball should have suffered in 2009 from inexperience.

But the raw talent of that freshmen class including pitcher Jenna Caira has the Orange looking for an NCAA Tournament bid.  Caira has been outstanding in the circle and her excellence culminated in a no-hitter against Villanova.

Caira tossed seven shutout, no-hit innings against the Wildcats on April 5th to lead the ‘Cuse to a 5-0 victory. The freshman struck out nine batters and walked just three along the way.

Caira became the first Orange pitcher to throw a no-no since Courtney Mosch completed the achievement in 2009. Coach Leigh Ross probably hopes Caira doesn’t follow the same path Mosch did who later transferred out of the program to another Big East school. The no-hitter is just the third in school history.

The no-hitter was a part of a double-header, a common practice in collegiate softball. Caira started the second game, throwing three innings of no-hit ball until a Wildcat doubled off her in the fourth.

Image courtesy of SU Athletics

Top Moments in 2008-2009, No. 10 Syracuse Captures O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic

In past seasons, one of the biggest knocks against Jim Boeheim coached teams is they didn’t schedule or beat any top teams in non-conference play. The O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic quickly changed the Orange’s reputation as in the matter of just two days, the ‘Cuse would pick up two wins over ranked opponents.

During the week of Thanksgiving, point guard Jonny Flynn looked like a man on a mission, leading SU with 43 points in two days including 25 in the 89-81 victory over Kansas in the Championship Game. The ‘Cuse beat Florida 89-83 the previous day.

The Orange found itself down double-digits most of the Championship Game due to a porous 2-3 zone defense, but a switch to man-to-man defense in the second half turned up the defensive intensity and turned the game around. The defense spurred a 19-5 run to give the ‘Cuse a 57-56 lead, but the Orange would again fall behind.

Flynn has shown a propensity for clutch shots and came through once again drilling a three-pointer late in regulation to send the game to overtime where Arinze Onuaku and Eric Devendorf took over.

The win put the ‘Cuse on the national radar for the first time really since 2006 before Flynn ever even stepped on campus. The Orange shot up the rankings riding the wins over Florida and Kansas in the CBE Classic and later in Memphis, eventually making it into the top 10.

For video highlights of the game, check out ESPN.com

Image courtesy of Getty Images