And just like that, SU is no longer undefeated.
It's been a big week of up and downs for Syracuse Lacrosse. From a huge win against Duke, to a less impressive win on the road at Princeton, to losing to Cornell in a fairly embarrassing fashion in the Carrier Dome. Since we're covering two games, we'll gloss over a lot of the stats and scores this week, and concentrate on some analysis.
Syracuse first took on Princeton on Saturday in New Jersey. Syracuse pulled out a win, but ended up playing a sloppy game. It was mostly Syracuse in the first quarter as Joel White bounced a pass to Stephen Keogh in the crease for an easy goal. Then Princeton tied up the game to end the third quarter after three straight goals. Syracuse's defense locked Princeton down in the fourth however. And Syracuse added two more goals to ice the game. A sloppy game followed by a well executed fourth quarter led to a Syracuse victory. The complete box score can be found here.
Then we get to this past Tuesday where Syracuse played upstate rival Cornell in the Carrier Dome. This was a match between #5 and #1. Syracuse never led in this game as Cornell got on the board first and with the first three goals. Syracuse then allowed two more goals to be down that the end of the first quarter 5-1. Syracuse managed to win the fourth quarter 2-1, but by then it was far too late. Cornell looked sharp and ready to play, while Syracuse was unable to do anything on offense for the majority of the game. They had 20 turnovers, as did Cornell, but the Big Red outshot the Orange 36-25. Syracuse played their worst game of the year and was rewarded with their first loss of the season. The Cornell box score can be found here.
Syracuse was #1 in the Media and Coaches Polls this week. That is sure to change Monday. Cornell was #5 in both Polls as well. I predict Notre Dame will be #1, Cornell will jump to #2, and Syracuse will drop to #3 with Johns Hopkins actually dropping down to #4 as Syracuse beat them earlier this year. We shall see on Monday.
Syracuse will next play Providence in the New England Lacrosse Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on Saturday at 4:00pm. It will be broadcast regionally in Massachusetts on Cox Sports, and of course in New York on Time Warner Cable Sports. Correspondent John Brennan and I will be present at this game as we should see Syracuse remain unbeaten in Big East play. We'll be back after Monday with the usual full slate of Lacrosse Weekly. Syracuse should rebound after a tough loss and earn a big win in Foxboro, a place where Syracuse has always played very well and is undefeated.
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