1983 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament

1983 NCAA Division I
Men's Lacrosse Championship

Dates	May-June, 1983
Teams	8
Finals location	Rutgers University
Champion	Syracuse
Runner-Up	Johns Hopkins
Tournament Most Outstanding Player	Brad Kotz
Tournament Records	Tied finals record for most goals teams combined, 33
Tournament Finals Attendance	15,672

The 1983 Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship game was played at Rutgers University in front of 15,672 fans.

Tournament Overview

In one of the more significant NCAA lacrosse finals, Syracuse capped off a 14 and 1 season with its first NCAA championship, and fifth overall college lacrosse title, as they defeated Johns Hopkins 17 to 16. The Orange led by Hall-of-Famers Brad Kotz and Tim Nelson, scored eight straight goals in less than nine minutes late in the game to clinch the title, after Hopkins had gone up 12 to 5 midway through the third quarter.

Syracuse was seeded second and hosted the first round and semifinal games. The Orange beat Penn, the seventh-seed, 11-8, at Coyne Field. In the semis at the Carrier Dome, the Orange beat Maryland, 12-5, behind Randy Lundblad’s one goal and four assists and Travis Solomon’s 22 saves.

In the finals, The Blue Jays had a 12-5 lead with less than seven minutes to play in the third period when the Orange rallied. Syracuse outscored the Blue Jays, 4-1, to close out the third period and then added six straight goals in the fourth to go up 15-13. Hopkins knotted the score at 15, but goals by Brad Kotz and Lundblad gave the Orange a two-goal cushion. Tim Nelson had two goals and six assists to finish as the tournament’s leading scorer with 15 points. Kotz scored five goals, all in the second half, and was named Most Outstanding Player. And Solomon made 18 saves.

Late in the third quarter, defenseman Darren Lawlor scored a goal that set off a chain of events to push the Orangemen to their first-ever lacrosse title. The confidence to overcome such a large gap, against a Hopkins team participating in its seventh straight title game, came from Lawlor and the other Orange seniors. But the offensive punch was all sophomore, including midfielder Brad Kotz of West Genesee, and sophomore Tim Nelson a transfer from North Carolina State. Nelson's pass to Randy Lundblad for an open-net goal with 1:09 left locked up the title, with the Orange leading 17-15. The deeper Orangemen (14-1) simply burned out Johns Hopkins (12-2) physically and emotionally with a blaze of second half pressure.

For Hopkins, Del Dressel was outstanding in this tournament, exhibiting one on one skills on par with the Orange's most athletic players, and finishing with three goals and one assists in the finals. Syracuse and Johns Hopkins would go on to meet in the NCAA finals five more times, the last in 2008.

Tournament results

	First Round May 18					Semifinals May 21					Championship May 28
	1	Johns Hopkins	7
	8	Cornell	6
						1	Johns Hopkins	12
						5	North Carolina	9
	5	North Carolina	12
	4	Army	6
											1	Johns Hopkins	16
											2	Syracuse	17
	3	Syracuse	11
	7	Penn	8
						2	Syracuse	12
						6	Maryland	5
	6	Maryland	13
	3	Virginia	4

Tournament Boxscores

Tournament Finals
Syracuse ............................................... 2-2-5-8–17
Johns Hopkins ..................................... 4-4-5-3–16
Syracuse scoring – Brad Kotz 5, Randy Lundblad 3, Dave Desko 2, Tim Nelson 2, Art Lux 2, Darren Lawlor, Mike Powers, Tom Korrie
Johns Hopkins scoring – Del Dressel 3, Peter Scott 3, John Krumenacker 2, Bill Cantelli 2, Willy Odenthal 2, Kirk Baugher, Brent Ciccarone, Lee Davidson, Henry Ciccarone Jr.
Shots: Johns Hopkins 50, Syracuse 48
Saves: Johns Hopkins 22, Syracuse 18

Tournament Semi-finals
Syracuse ............................................. 2-3-4-3–12
Maryland............................................... 0-1-2-2–5
Syracuse scoring – Art Lux 3, Mike Powers 2, Dave Desko 2, Randy Lundblad, John Schimoler, Brad Kotz, Jeff McCormick, Wayne Roemer
Maryland scoring – Jim Wilkerson 2, Tim Worstell, Tony Olmert, Mike Hubbard
Shots: Syracuse 37, Maryland 37
Saves: Syracuse 23, Maryland 13

Johns Hopkins ................................... 2-5-2-3–12
North Carolina ................................... 1-3-3-2–9
Johns Hopkins scoring – Peter Scott 3, Del Dressel 3, Henry Ciccarone Jr. 2, Bill Cantelli 2, John Krumenacker, Willy Odenthal
North Carolina scoring – Peter Voelkel 2, Bill Ness 2, David Wingate, Joe Seivold, Mike Burnett, Mac Ford, Terry Martinello
Shots: Johns Hopkins 45, North Carolina 35
Saves: North Carolina 17, Johns Hopkins 15

Tournament Outstanding Players

• Brad Kotz, Syracuse (Named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player)

Leading Scorers

Name			GP	G	A	Pts
Tim Nelson, Syracuse			3	3	12	15
Del Dressel, Johns Hopkins			3	10	2	12
Randy Lundblad, Syracuse			3	7	5	12
Brad Kotz, Syracuse			3	6	4	10
Art Lux, Syracuse			3	8	2	8
Dave Desko, Syracuse			3	6	2	8
Peter Scott, Johns Hopkins			3	6	1	7
John Krumenacker, Johns Hopkins			3	3	4	7
Henry Ciccarone Jr., Johns Hopkins			3	3	4	7
Dave Wingate, North Carolina			2	5	1	6

External links

• A Season That Changed the Game
• 1983 NCAA Lacrosse Title Syracuse Hopkins part1 on YouTube
• 1983 NCAA Lacrosse Title Syracuse Hopkins part2 on YouTube