Syracuse men’s lacrosse is fresh off an encouraging season. After wrapping up the year with a 13-6 record and a trip to the Final Four, SU fans should be excited after some close performances where the Orange came out on top. Syracuse’s route wasn’t an easy one.
First off, the Orange had a very up and down regular season. SU’s toughest stretch was when it lost two in a row against a tough Maryland team, and an upset loss to Harvard. The game against the Crimson was difficult, because of the fact that Syracuse had the lead for much of the contest and then gave it away at the end.
Then to end the campaign, Syracuse dropped three consecutive contests to Cornell, Duke, and North Carolina. This didn’t give the Orange the best momentum heading into the postseason.
However, SU turned on the jets and clicked at the right time once the NCAA Tournament got underway after winning the ACC Championship with victories over Notre Dame and Duke. The Orange avenged Harvard with a one-goal overtime win. Then, SU did it again less than a week later in the NCAA quarterfinals in a 19-18 win over Princeton.
Either of these games could’ve easily gone the other way. But, Syracuse held strong.
The Orange dropped their final game of the season to Maryland for the second time of the year in the NCAA Semifinals. SU struggled for most of this contest, and proved that the Terrapins are legit and the first matchup wasn’t a fluke.
If it weren’t for some playoff success both in the ACC Championship and the NCAA Tournament, would Syracuse’s season have a different outcome?
That’s the question of the offseason before next season gets underway after an encouraging end to the season. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.
