The 1988 NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament was the 18th annual

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

hosted by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

to determine the team champion of men's

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among its Division I programs, held at the end of the 1988 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse season. Hosts Syracuse defeated Cornell in the final, 13–8, for the first of three straight NCAA titles for the Orangemen. The championship game was played at the Carrier Dome at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, with 20,148 fans in attendance.

Overview

Syracuse's 1988 team is noted for finishing undefeated, 15-0, and featuring the Gait brothers,

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and Gary Gait. Syracuse was ranked number one in the nation for most of this year, averaged just under 18 goals a game, and had only one close game—an overtime win over North Carolina—during the regular season. They had also defeated the second seed in the tournament, Johns Hopkins, 19–7 early in the season. This NCAAs is also notable for being the tournament where Gary Gait took his famous "Air Gait" shot in a close semi-final game agains
Tony Seaman's
Penn team. Penn played a tough zone defense to try to contain the Gaits and Syracuse. Gary Gait saw a way around the zone, by running directly at the goal from behind and slam dunking the ball into the goal past the shocked goaltender. At that time, a player was allowed to both touch the goal and land in the crease, provided the ball had first crossed the goal line. Gait scored on two "Air Gait" plays in that game. The NCAA outlawed that type of play a short while later. Syracuse won this semifinal game against Penn on a goal by Paul Gait with three seconds left in the game. In a 23–5 quarterfinal win over Navy, Gary Gait scored a tournament record 9 goals.

Bracket

* ^''(i)'' one overtime

Box scores

Finals

Semifinals

Quarterfinals

First round

References

External links

"Air Gait" original Air Gait compilation on YouTube"Air Gait" on YouTube1988 Semifinals Syracuse v Penn "Air Gait" game, full game
{{1987–88 NCAA Division I championships navbox NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship 1988 in lacrosse NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse