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The Daily OrangeMcCullough: Syracuse lacrosse poised to dominate new Big East conference
By Andy McCullough
Posted: 2/17/09, 12:11 AM EST Section: Sports
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The No. 2 Orange bullied the Friars across the FieldTurf, dicing up their zone defense, shielding them from offensive opportunities and, for good measure, pulling out a hidden ball trick to run things up. Syracuse scored 22 goals. Providence only took 12 shots.
"It's easy for me to say," Syracuse head coach John Desko said about the Friars, "but I think long-term, it's a good experience for them."
Expect more learning experiences in years to come. Expect more of these thumpings as tenderfoot teams face SU. And expect, at the very least, an automatic playoff bid for the Orange.
With SU onboard, the Big East lacrosse league will begin play next season. Syracuse will join a league stocked with doormats (Providence, Rutgers, St. John's and Villanova) and stepping stones (Georgetown, Notre Dame) - and the doormats will spend years striving to become stepping stones.
So first, the doormats.
The Orange will now schedule games against former members of the CAA and the MAAC, in addition to marquee matchups against Johns Hopkins, Princeton and Virginia. "In this kind of situation," sophomore midfielder Jovan Miller said last week, "you're kind of forced to play against some certain teams that, if you look up on the schedule, you probably wouldn't see yourself playing, if you had the option."
The league could not form without the Orange, which is playing its final year as an independent. For decades, Syracuse could pick and choose its schedule without worry. The playoffs were an afterthought. During one stretch, SU made 22 straight final fours. It made the playoffs 25 years in a row.
That changed two years ago. Yes, the specter of missing the playoffs in 2007 will not fade just yet. The motivation for the Orange finally joining a league comes will the allure of an automatic qualifier (AQ) into the NCAA tournament for the Big East champion.
"A couple years ago, we were 5-8," Desko said Sunday. "Had we been in the Big East conference...? We beat all the opponents we had in the Big East. At 5-8, we would've had an AQ to the playoffs.
"So, if ever a team is having a year like that, you have something else that you can shoot for."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Tim Conway
posted 2/17/09 @ 8:39 AM EST
Mr. Andy McCullogh;
There's an obvious reason you are the Enterprise Editor! You have learned your craft well and written a really nice article here. (Continued…)
GU Lax
posted 2/17/09 @ 9:58 AM EST
Good piece, but it is Brendan Cannon, not Brandon, and Georgetown never made the final four with Cannon/Kass/Lambe.
Also, Cannon and Kass were recruited in 2003 and showed up at Georgetown in 2004. (Continued…)
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