Orange men’s lacrosse earns No. 2 seed in NCAA tournament
The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team was awarded the No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row Sunday. Its quest to win a third straight national championship begins when Army comes to the Carrier Dome for a matchup at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 16.
SU has won its last 11 games after a loss to No. 1-seeded Virginia back on March 7. The Orange is coming off a 15-7 win over St. John’s that gave Syracuse the inaugural Big East conference championship.
The Black Knights enter the tournament as the Patriot League’s automatic qualifier after winning the conference tournament. They also come in riding a seven-game win streak.
The Orange (13-1, 6-0 Big East) and the Black Knights (10-5, 6-0 Patriot League) battled earlier this season at the Dome on Feb. 28. Army stuck with SU in that game, tying the score at 5-5 in the third quarter. But Syracuse used a four-goal run to pull away for the 12-7 win.
Army holds a 38-19 advantage in the overall series between the two teams, but Syracuse has dominated in the last three decades. The Orange has taken 15 of the last 18 matchups.
SU has now entered the field as the No. 2 seed seven times since the tournament’s inception. From that position, the Orange holds a 15-3 overall record and has won three national championships, including its overtime win over Cornell a season ago.
Should Syracuse beat the Black Knights Sunday, a potential second round matchup with its Central New York rival awaits if the No. 7 seed Big Red can make it past Loyola. SU also beat Cornell on April 13 this season on senior attack Chris Daniello’s goal as time expired.
Published on May 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm
