Men's lacrosse

Rice highlights SU’s All-ACC tournament honorees after setting records in points, assists

Logan Reidsma | Staff Photographer

Kevin Rice set ACC tournament records with 15 points and 11 assists. The junior attack was one of four All-ACC tournament selections for Syracuse.

Kevin Rice didn’t end the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament the way he’d hoped, but he still turned in a stellar performance.

Despite taking an unsuccessful last-second shot that would’ve tied up the ACC championship game with just seconds on the clock, Rice led Syracuse’s four All-ACC tournament selections by setting tournament records with a combined 15 points and 11 assists in two games. Attacks Randy Staats and Dylan Donahue, and defender Brandon Mullins rounded out the Orange’s all-tournament honorees.

Rice, a junior attack, went for three goals and five assists in the No. 4 Orange’s (10-4, 2-3 ACC) exhilarating 16-15 comeback victory over Duke on Friday. He followed it up Sunday with a one-goal, six-assist day in Syracuse’s failed comeback effort in a 15-14 loss to Notre Dame in the ACC championship game at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.

“He’s just unbelievable,” SU faceoff specialist Chris Daddio said. “He finds ways to score. That’s just the way he plays.”

For Rice, the weekend was just a continuation of a highly productive season. His 69 points lead Syracuse, and he’s tied for fourth in the country in points per game. On Saturday, he and Staats were selected as two of 28 nominees for the 2014 Tewaaraton Award, given to college lacrosse’s top player.



Rice has six points in at least seven games this year, and the Orange is 6-1 when he hits that mark.

In Friday’s comeback victory against the Blue Devils, Rice’s fourth-quarter goal kicked off a decisive 6-1 SU run.

Then he assisted on the game-winning goal, taking a pass from Staats with less than five seconds left in the game. From the top of the box, Rice zipped a pass to the crease for Donahue, who turned and flicked it in just before time expired.

“We were able to fight back, and I’m just really proud of everyone,” Rice said after the win.

Two days later, Rice continued to facilitate the offense, this time against the Fighting Irish. Going into the fourth quarter, he had one goal and four assists.

And when the Orange mounted a comeback attempt in the fourth, Rice was the driving force behind it.

“I think we finally settled down,” SU head coach John Desko said.

Rice set himself up behind the cage and waited for his cutters. He found both Derek Maltz and Staats at the crease for goals.

Down 15-14, SU had one last possession with just under a minute left. From behind the net, Rice darted to the right doorstep and got off a contested shot, but UND goalie Conor Kelly snared it.

“I knew there was about 10 seconds left,” Rice said. “I went to the rack and he made a good save.”

Kelly’s denial was a crushing ending to the Orange’s six-game winning streak, which had thrust Syracuse into the nation’s top five.

But as SU players had said all along, an ACC championship isn’t the biggest prize. The NCAA tournament is, and the Tewaaraton nominee will lead the way.

“Anytime you lose a game, it’s a kick in the back,” Rice said. “Obviously, we wanted to win here today, but we can look at the tape and move forward and get ready for Colgate (on Saturday).

“It’s one we can’t let get away from us, and then the real deal starts.”





Top Stories