Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMLAX | TITLE TILT: Syracuse prepares for NCAA final match with Johns Hopkins
By John Clayton
Posted: 5/25/08, 4:52 PM EST Section: Sports
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Dave Pietramala held up his right arm to display an army-fatigue colored rubber bracelet to the crowd of media assembled in front of him.
Minutes earlier, his fifth-seeded Johns Hopkins team had completed its 10-9 upset of top-seeded Duke. It was the Blue Jays' eighth consecutive win, a shocking stat for a team that six weeks earlier was 3-5 and losers of five straight.
Around that time, Pietramala's players gave him the bracelet - colored such to represent the team was on a "mission" to turn its season around.
"I'm normally not a believer in things like this," said Pietramala, the Jays' eighth-year head coach. "But I believed in what it meant to our team."
Syracuse hasn't resorted to such symbolic methods - or if the players have they aren't letting on. But the Orange has made little attempt to veil that this season has been about restoring pride after last year's 5-8 debacle.
Both teams will have the chance at the ultimate redemption Monday, when they face off in the national championship game at Gillette Stadium (1 p.m., ESPN). It will be the fifth time the two sides have played in the final (the series is tied 2-2).
On one hand, college lacrosse's showpiece will be a matchup of the veritable old guard of the sport. Syracuse and Johns Hopkins have each won nine national titles - tied for the most all time. Of the last 36 national titles doled out, the two teams have combined to win half. The Blue Jays have won two of the last three titles, including last season's.
So to hear Pietramala call Monday a "unique championship" might sound strange, but it certainly holds some credence. Both teams have faced adversity, only to regroup and reinvent on their road back to this point.
"I think we've both gotten through a difficult period," Pietramala said. "You look at them and you see what an excellent job their coaching staff has done. They've kind of looked at themselves and made a couple changes and bounce back this year and go to national championship game.
Minutes earlier, his fifth-seeded Johns Hopkins team had completed its 10-9 upset of top-seeded Duke. It was the Blue Jays' eighth consecutive win, a shocking stat for a team that six weeks earlier was 3-5 and losers of five straight.
Around that time, Pietramala's players gave him the bracelet - colored such to represent the team was on a "mission" to turn its season around.
"I'm normally not a believer in things like this," said Pietramala, the Jays' eighth-year head coach. "But I believed in what it meant to our team."
Syracuse hasn't resorted to such symbolic methods - or if the players have they aren't letting on. But the Orange has made little attempt to veil that this season has been about restoring pride after last year's 5-8 debacle.
Both teams will have the chance at the ultimate redemption Monday, when they face off in the national championship game at Gillette Stadium (1 p.m., ESPN). It will be the fifth time the two sides have played in the final (the series is tied 2-2).
On one hand, college lacrosse's showpiece will be a matchup of the veritable old guard of the sport. Syracuse and Johns Hopkins have each won nine national titles - tied for the most all time. Of the last 36 national titles doled out, the two teams have combined to win half. The Blue Jays have won two of the last three titles, including last season's.
So to hear Pietramala call Monday a "unique championship" might sound strange, but it certainly holds some credence. Both teams have faced adversity, only to regroup and reinvent on their road back to this point.
"I think we've both gotten through a difficult period," Pietramala said. "You look at them and you see what an excellent job their coaching staff has done. They've kind of looked at themselves and made a couple changes and bounce back this year and go to national championship game.
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