Dates May-June, 1983 Finals site Rutgers University Runner-up Johns Hopkins | Teams 8 Champions Syracuse (1st title) MOP Brad Kotz | |
The 1983 Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship game was played at Rutgers University in front of 15,672 fans.
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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, with Del Dressell scoring the final Hopkins goal. Tim Nelson had two goals and six assists in the finals, 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. Travis Solomon made 18 saves for the Orange.
Late in the third quarter, team captain and defenseman Darren Lawlor scored a key goal left-handed, which provided a spark, pushing the Orangemen to their first NCAA title. The conviction to overcome a seven goal 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 the transfer from North Carolina State. Nelson's pass to Randy Lundblad for an open-net goal with 1:09 left locked up the title giving the Orange a 17-15 lead.
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 time in 2008.
Tournament boxscores
Tournament Finals
Tournament Semi-finals
Tournament First Round