The 2011 Big City Classic delivered three quality games in front of 25,115 on Sunday and showcased some of the top teams and talent in the nation.
Things kicked off with an upset as St. John’s beat Rutgers 9-8 in a Big East matchup. Coming into the game, the Johnnies were the worst of the six teams in the Classic, without only two wins on the season. They leave with their first conference win of the season thanks to quick scoring and strong face-off wins.
It’s been up and down for Johns Hopkins the last couple seasons. This year was looking the same until the last week as the Blue Jays have won their second-straight top-10 win. Hopkins dominated early face-offs and scoring four quick settled goals and then scored last to top North Carolina 10-9. Lee Coopersmith scored the game-winner with less than two minutes to play.
Finally, the main event featured the No. 1 Syracuse Orange and the defending-champion No. 2 Duke Blue Devils. The Orange looked to make this a repeat of their last meeting, a 20-9 trouncing, and they looked en route to that in the first half. With scoring by nine different players and brick wall in goal named John Galloway, SU dominated the half and led 9-2. The Blue Devils regrouped in the second half, went on a 5-0 run in the fourth quarter and turned it back into a game. The Orange were able to hold on as Galloway collected 16 saves en route to a 13-11 win.
For more on these games and their results, keep an eye on SB Nation’s college lacrosse blog College Crosse and Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician.