FOXBORO, MASS. --
If you know anything about the # 1 SU Lacrosse team or # 8 Maryland, chances are you'd predict a close game in Foxboro on Sunday. But if you were a betting person simply playing the odds, there is one glaring stat that would be very difficult to ignore. The Orange have won the last 25 NCAA quarterfinal games they've played in. Granted, the didn't even make it to the quarterfinals last year thanks to that loss to Army, but SU Head Coach John Desko has his theory why the Orange have been successful 25 straight times when they do get this far in the season.
"I think maybe some of it has to do with the first round, during the week you're finishing your finals, graduation is literally hours before your playoff game, the Dome is being switched over. But I think now, we win that game, we go into this round, and this week is all about lacrosse. There aren't any finals, the parents aren't coming up for graduation, there are no classes so we can get the guys out to eat, get them for film earlier, and strength and conditioning. We keep them busy, but it's all about lacrosse, so I think it's the fact that they can just focus on their next game."
The Orange have also been very successful in big venues, especially Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. They'll face off with Maryland at noon this Sunday. The following is a preview from the Terps official website.
C OLLEGE PARK, MD. - The unseeded Maryland men's lacrosse team will face No. 1 seed Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the 2011 NCAA Tournament at Gillette Stadium. Face-off is set for 12 noon, as the Terps (11-4 overall) battle the Orange (15-1) for the seventh time in post-season play.• The game will be televised live on ESPNU. Eamon McEnaney will provide the play-by-play, while the analysis will come from Quint Kessenich. Mark Dixon will be the sideline reporter for the game.
• The Terps are making their 34th NCAA Tournament appearance, the second most of any school in NCAA history, while Syracuse is making its 30th appearance in the NCAA tournament.
• The winner of the Maryland/Syracuse game will advance to the Final Four in Baltimore and will face the winner of the No. 4 seed Notre Dame (11-2)/No. 5 seed Duke (13-5) game on Saturday, May 28 at M&T Bank Stadium. The Fighting Irish and Blue Devils play in the second game on Sunday, which is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start.
• Maryland is 11-4 on the season following a 13-6 win over No. 8 seed North Carolina on May 15 in Chapel Hill. The Terps are the only unseeded team to advance to this year's quarterfinals. Maryland is led by senior attackman Ryan Young, who has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points. Maryland's defense is led by a pair of All-ACC selections in close defender Brett Schmidt and goalie Niko Amato.
• Syracuse is 15-1 after defeating Siena, 10-4, in the final game of the first round on Sunday evening in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The Orange are led on offense by Stephen Kehoe, who had 33 goals and eight assists for 41 points. Tommy Palasek is the team leader in assists with 18. The Syracuse defense is among the best in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing just 7.0 goals per game. That unit is led by goalie John Galloway, who has won more games than any other goalie in NCAA history.
**Courtesy Maryland Athletics**
