John F. Zulberti (January 20, 1967 – August 1, 2021) was an American four-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

NCAA 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. ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

player 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 ...

from 1986 to 1989. The

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

won the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships in 1988 and 1989 with Zulberti teaming up with perennial all-timers

Gary Gait Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, ...

Paul Gait Paul Gait (born April 5, 1967) is widely regarded as one of the best lacrosse players of all time and is the current Vice President of the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League. Gait, along with his twin brother Gary Gait, had o ...

, and Tom Marechek. He drowned at the age of 54 in August 2021.

Syracuse Orange

In the 1988 championship, Zulberti teamed with high scoring teammates the Gait brothers and Tom Marechek to lead the Orange to a 13-8 win over

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

. These same four offensive leaders again teamed up to win the 1989 championship 13 to 12 over Johns Hopkins. Zulberti was named the

Jack Turnbull Award The "Lt. Col. J. I. Turnbull Award"''Go to' (box title is "2009 USILA Coaches of the Year Announced") ''and then scroll down'' to the lower box, entitled "2009 USILA Special Awards". The fourth regular award listed is: "Lt. Col. J. I. Turnbull Award ...

winner as the nation's top attackman in 1988 and 1989. He is among the all-time leaders in NCAA scoring, is 6th all-time on the Syracuse scoring list, and even ranks among the all-time point getters in New York Public School history.

MILL

John played professionally in the

Major Indoor Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

for the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at KeyBank Center. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse L ...

, playing in their inaugural season of 1992 and again teaming with Marechek to win a championship.

West Genesee

Like fellow Syracuse alum

Brad Kotz Bradley 'Brad' A. Kotz was a four-time All-American NCAA lacrosse player at Syracuse University from 1982 to 1985. Syracuse Orange The Orange won an NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1983 and made two additional appearances in the NCAA fina ...

, Zulberti played high school lacrosse at powerful

West Genesee High School West Genesee High School (colloquially referred to as West Genny or WG) is a 9–12 public high school in Camillus, New York, United States. It is part of the West Genesee Central School District. Recognized academic programs In addition to gen ...

, where he had 361 career points. In his junior and senior years at West Genesee, Zulberti had 129 and 139 points, respectively.

Syracuse University

:^''(a)'' 12th in NCAA Men's Division I all-time Assists :^''(b)'' 19th in NCAA Men's Division I all-time Total Points

References

External links

Syracuse Media GuideSyracuse Men's Lacrosse 1989 StatisticsSyracuse Men's Lacrosse 1987 StatisticsSyracuse Men's Lacrosse 1986 StatisticsNew York Public Lacrosse records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zulberti, John 1967 births 2021 deaths American lacrosse players Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse players Buffalo Bandits players Deaths by drowning in Georgia (U.S. state) Lacrosse players from New York (state)