Syracuse Silver Knights

Indoor soccer isn’t the low-scoring game that its outdoor counterpart is, and Syracuse’s indoor pro soccer team proves it. The Syracuse Silver Knights averaged just more than six goals per game last season. They broke out for 23 points three times during its inaugural season in the Major Indoor Soccer League. There are two- and three-point shots in theMISL.

The Silver Knights finished third in the Eastern Division last year, and the team is looking to improve in 2012-13.

The Silver Knights play their 13 home games at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena at 515 Montgomery St. in downtown Syracuse. The season begins in November and runs through March 2013. Single-game tickets cost between $15 and $17.

Syracuse Crunch

Sports fans in the Syracuse area don’t have to travel far to get their pro hockey fix.

As the primary development affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, fans get the unique chance to see some of pro hockey’s best young players before they reach the NHL.

Twenty-two of the Crunch’s 26 players have contracts with its parent team.

In 2010, the Crunch made history by staging the first minor league outdoor game. The Mirabito Outdoor Classic pitted the Crunch against the Binghamton Senators in front of 21,508 fans at the New York State Fairgrounds, right outside of Syracuse in Geddes.

The team plays its home games at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena, which holds 6,159 fans for hockey games. Single-game tickets range from $14 to $18.

Syracuse Chiefs

Professional baseball in Syracuse has a storied history that dates back to 1877. Today, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals calls the city of Syracuse home.

Before they became stars in the nation’s capital, recent top prospects Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg were Syracuse Chiefs. And before the team became the last stop for future Nationals players in 2009, it was the affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays (1978-2008) and the New York Yankees (1967-77).

The Chiefs haven’t made the playoffs since 1995, but they have developed young talent now making a difference in Washington. Nearly 14,000 fans packed into a sold-out venue to see each of Strasburg’s three starts in 2010. This past spring, they got a glimpse of Harper before he was called up on April 27.

Syracuse competes in the International League, which boasts Triple-A affiliates from 13 other major league teams, from April to September. Alliance Bank Stadium seats just more than 11,000 fans and is located directly across the street from Carousel Mall. Tickets range from $12 to $20.

—Compiled by Nick Toney, asst. copy editor, [email protected]

Published on August 21, 2012 at 11:57 am