Syracuse defeated No. 1 Notre Dame, 10-4, in front of 19,875 on a gorgeous day at MetLife Stadium in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic.
WHAT HAPPENED: Syracuse outscored Notre Dame 6-0 in the fourth quarter as the Orange finished the regular season with a big win over the No. 1 team in the country. As was the case last week against Georgetown, the SU defense keyed the win, stymieing the Fighting Irish in the first and fourth quarters. Goalie Dominic Lamolinara (six saves) and the SU defense held the Irish to just one goal in the final 34:27 of the game. And, though it took a while, the Syracuse offense finally got going in the second half. Syracuse used a 3-0 run in the third quarter to give SU its first lead of the game at 4-3 and it would score 6 unanswered in the fourth quarter.
WHAT IT MEANS: Villanova defeated Providence, 19-11, on Saturday, meaning that the Wildcats claimed the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament. Villanova will play fourth-seeded Georgetown. Saturday’s game against Notre Dame became more academic, as the Orange and Fighting Irish will play again on Thursday with SU as the No. 2 seed and the Irish at No. 3. The Orange head into the Big East tournament with plenty of momentum, winners of six of their past seven games. Over the past two games, the SU defense has allowed an average of just 6.0 goals per game.
» More SU Lax: Syracuse shuts down Georgetown
STAR GAZING: On a day when JoJo Marasco was a non-factor, Dylan Donahue and Kevin Rice provided the offense. Donahue came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring all of his four points (three goals and one assists) while Rice also had four points (one goal, three assists). Rice was named Big City Classic Player of the Game. Matt Kavanagh lead the Irish with a pair of goals.
WHAT’S NEXT: The two teams will meet again on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 7 p.m. in Villanova, Pa. in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. TV: ESPN3.
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