SYRACUSE, N.Y. - This week Syracuse and Virginia became the second duo to ever share the No. 1 ranking in the USILA Coaches Poll. On Friday, March 4 at 6 p.m. they meet as co-No. 1's at the Carrier Dome in their annual regular-season clash. It's the fourth straight year the Orange and Cavaliers carry perfect records into the pairing. Syracuse is 2-0 with wins over Denver and Army. Virginia is 4-0 and coming off a 22-6 thrashing of VMI on Monday.

Tickets are available online (SUathletics.com), over the phone (1-888-DOMETIX), or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office during normal business hours. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 12 and under. Students and 'Cuse Kids Club members get in free will valid ID cards. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance and arrive to Dome on Friday as a large crowd is expected.

Fans that do not have a season or individual game parking pass are strongly encouraged to park in the Manley Field House North and South lots ($10 per car) and take a free shuttle to and from College Place to avoid delays in attending the game. Manley lots will open at 3 p.m. (Take Route 81 to the Brighton Ave. exit or Route 481 to the Brighton Ave./Rock Cut Rd. exit and follow the signs.)

The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU. Fans can also hear the action live on the radio home of the Orange - TK 99 (99.5 FM). Live streaming audio is available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All-Access.

TIED AT THE TOP

Syracuse and Virginia both received 175 points to tie for the top spot in the latest USILA Coaches Poll released on Feb. 28. It's just the second time since 1973 that there has been a tie atop the coaches' rankings. The only other occasion was in 1985 when Syracuse and Johns Hopkins were both ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season. A little more than two weeks later, the Orange and Blue Jays squared off as co-No. 1's for the national championship. Johns Hopkins won the game 11-4 and the Blue Jays claimed the top spot in the season's final poll. Syracuse was second.

DESKO VS. STARSIA

SU head coach John Desko and Virginia head coach Dom Starsia are two of the top active coaches in the game. Desko is first among active Division I coaches in career winning percentage (.772). Starsia is fourth on that list (.739). Starsia owns the second-most wins by an active head coach (320). Desko is 13th with 149. Desko and Starsia are two of the four active coaches that have won at least three NCAA titles and they have combined for eight total (Desko - 5, Starsia - 3). Desko is 7-9 in head-to-head meetings with Starsia since taking the Orange reigns in 1999.

WINNINGEST ACTIVE GOALIES GO HEAD-TO-HEAD

Friday's game is also a matchup of the two winningest active goalies in Division I lacrosse. SU senior John Galloway (Syracuse, N.Y.) has 46 career victories, tops among active netminders, and the fourth-highest total in NCAA history. Virginia senior Adam Ghitelman is second on the active list with 41 wins, which ties him for eighth all-time. Both players have started since their rookie season of 2008. Ghitelman is 3-1 head-to-head against Galloway, but Galloway has led Syracuse to two national championships in three seasons.

DESKO COMING OF AGE

Redshirt junior Tim Desko (Syracuse, N.Y.) is stepping up offensively in his third season. Desko is tied with sophomore JoJo Marasco for the team lead this season with five goals. After notching 10 career two-goal games, Desko broke through with his first career hat trick against Army on Feb. 27. Desko's third goal of the contest snapped an Orange scoring drought that had reached more than 26 minutes and made the score 10-7 in the fourth quarter.

MEET THE NEW #22

Sophomore JoJo Marasco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) is donning the famous #22 jersey for the Orange in 2011. So far he's lived up to the billing. Marasco leads the Orange with nine points this season. He ranks ninth nationally in points per game (4.5).

SCOUTING VIRGINIA

Like Syracuse, the Cavaliers enter Friday's showdown unbeaten. Virginia is 4-0 with an 11-10 overtime victory over Stony Brook and a 22-6 triumph against VMI in its two most recent outings. The Cavaliers are ranked third nationally in scoring offense, averaging 16.5 goals per game.

The club boasts one of the top attack units in the country. Junior Steele Stanwick (11g, 12a) is the team's primary playmaker and he ranks fourth in the country in points per game (5.33). He had seven points against both Stony Brook and VMI, including the game-winner in overtime against the Seawolves. Classmate Chris Bocklet is the team's primary finisher with 15 goals. Sophomore Connor English (5g, 1a) rounds out the group.

Brothers - Shamel and Rhamel Bratton lead a dynamic midfield. Shamel Bratton (4g, 2a) is a two-time first-team All-American and gets most of the attention. Rhamel (4g, 1a) is a capable offensive threat. Senior captain John Haldy (1g, 2a) is the third member of Virginia's top line.

Close defenseman Matt Lovejoy (14 ground balls) and senior LSM Bray Malphrus (7 caused turnovers) lead the Cavaliers defense. Senior goalie Adam Ghitelman owns a 6.51 goals-against average and is 3-0 this season. He has 41 career victories, the second-highest active total behind SU's John Galloway (46).

The Cavaliers have been excellent on special teams in the early going. Virginia leads the NCAA in both man-down defense and man-up offense. The Cavaliers have been remarkable with the extra man, converting on 80 percent of their opportunities (13-16). At the other end of the spectrum, the Cavaliers have surrendered just one extra-man goal in 12 man-up chances for their opponents.

THE SERIES WITH VIRGINIA

In a remarkably competitive series, Virginia holds a 14-12 advantage all-time against the Orange. The Cavaliers have scored one more goal than the Orange (345-344) in the 26 series meetings. Eleven games have been decided by one goal, including the last four, and four meetings have been settled in overtime, including both 2008 encounters. The Cavaliers have won seven of the last eight meetings, including the last six regular-season pairings. SU's only win in that span was a 14-13, double-overtime triumph in the 2008 national semifinals.

UP NEXT

Syracuse squares off against Georgetown as part of the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic on Saturday, March 12 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The contest is the Orange's BIG EAST Conference opener. Faceoff is slated for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU.

**Courtesy SU Athletics**