WHAT HAPPENED: With the temperature in the high forties at game time, the number-one ranked Terrapins (23-0) raced out to a 7-4 halftime lead before the Orange chipped away.  Midfielder Katie Webster’s goal with 18:31 to play gave the Orange (18-4) their first lead at 10-9, and it was back-and forth the rest of the way until the Terps Brooke Griffin scored with 2:51 left to provide the winning margin.

Syracuse fell short in its bid for a national title losing to Maryland in Friday night’s NCAA Women’s Lacrosse semifinals at Villanova Stadium.

WHAT IT MEANS: Close, but no cigar, at another shot for a national title for Gary Gait in his seventh season of leading the program. after falling to Northwestern in last year’s championship game, and coming two wins shy this season.

» More SU Lax: Final Fours cap magical year in SU athletics

STAR GAZING: ‘Cuse freshman attack Kayla Treanor ended her spectacular rookie season in orange and blue scoring four times and assisting on two other goals.  Treanor is dangerous close to the net; all four of her tallies came on beautiful one-on-one moves to the cage.  Sophomore goalie Kelsey Richardson had nine saves in defeat.

WHAT’S NEXT: After a post-game autograph session in which both teams sign for hundreds of fans, it’s a summer of workouts and camps before fall practice in Sept. and the debut season in the ACC in 2014.

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Orange Watch has been headquartered in the Philadelphia region long enough to know about the area’s infamous traffic delays on inadequate-sized highways the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), Blue Route (I-476) and I-95, especially on holiday weekends and on days with bad weather, and has been fortunate enough to carve out its own secret directions for avoiding such headaches.

The NCAA Lacrosse Final Four is back in Philadelphia for the first time since 2006.

Therefore, it was no shock at Thursday’s NCAA Lacrosse Final Four media day at Lincoln Financial Field hearing that the Syracuse team bus was crawling in traffic on the Schuykill as strong storms pushed through, and would be almost 90 minutes late arriving to get the first glimpse of the field, check out the overall atmosphere of the large stadium, and join the three other squads on hand at the annual Final Four banquet, held in this case in one of the stadium’s club dining facilities.

» Related: Final Four runs cap golden year in SU athletics

“Sorry, stuck in traffic,” an apologetic John Desko announced upon walking down the tunnel to the field. Minutes later, Desko could be heard on his cell phone directing the SU equipment truck driver to the stadium, sharing the traffic misery.

Item: Two of the sport’s coaching heavyweights face off for the fifth time in the NCAA Tournament.

Unlike Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski, two close coaching heavyweight friends who would prefer not to match-up against one another (two meetings have produced a 1-1 record in games in 1989 and 1998), but who are scheduled to do just that this upcoming season in the Dome, John Desko and Denver’s Bill Tierney had the exact opposite feeling in the smaller universe that is college lax when Desko took the ‘Cuse reigns in 1999 and Tierney was starting his 12th year at Princeton.

The schools immediately scheduled each other on an annual basis, and when Tierney took over the Denver program in 2010, he knew the best place to take his new team to begin play was the Dome to face the Orange.

“Our seniors and juniors have experienced the Syracuse onslaught personally in the Carrier Dome (SU six-goal victories in ‘10 and ’11), Tierney said on Thursday gazing over the stadium. “We obviously feel we’re a better team this year than we’ve been in the past, and those (the previous meetings) were early season contests.”

Item: Where to eat a GOOD cheesesteak in Philadelphia?

That’s an easy question to answer. Why, Steve’s Prince of Steaks, of course.

» Related: Syracuse needs magic in Phildelphia

Sure, tourist Meccas Pat’s, Geno’s, Jim’s, and Tony Luke’s are closer to the stadium in South Philly, but they’re just that, for tourists. Locals know Steve’s original shop is the best, but it’s hard to find for out-of-towners in its Northeast Philly location.  However, the good news for lacrosse fans in town this weekend is Steve’s recently opened a Center City spot at 16th and Chestnut Streets, just two blocks from City Hall and not far from the SU team hotel on Market Street.

And, no, Orange Watch isn’t on Steve’s payroll. We’re simply trying to help ‘Cuse lax fans find a good cheesesteak while in town.

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2015 guard Isaiah Briscoe is one of the hottest prospects in the country, and he’s been tearing it up on the Nike EYBL circuit for the New Jersey Playaz. Briscoe is averaging 21.8 points per game through EYBL play so far. “I’ve been playing well and the team’s been playing well, but there’s always room for improvement,” Briscoe told PGU. “We say that our best game is our next game so we have to keep going after it.” “Coach always has faith in us, and tells us we’re going to win the game if we play hard every possession and leave it all on the floor,” he added. A 6-foot-3, 200 lb guard from Union, NJ, Briscoe has expanded his role during AAU play.

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» Related: SU out of Barton sweepstakes

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IN SYRACUSE’S LAST GAME: Dylan Donahue capped a furious SU rally, beating Yale goalie Eric Natale with :13 left. Things looked bleak for SU as they trailed 6-4 with under 3 minutes remaining after they had been shut out for 43 minutes, spanning the entire second and third quarters. But Kevin Rice and Luke Cometti scored back-to-back goals within six seconds of each other and Dominic Lamolinara made a huge save on Conrad Oberbeck’s shot with 55 seconds left.

Syracuse last met Denver in the 2011 season

» Related: Syracuse tops Bryant to head to NCAA quarters

IN DENVER’S LAST GAME: Denver advanced to their second final four in three years with a come-from-behind 12-11 victory over No. 5 North Carolina. The Tar Heels led by as many as six goals in the first half, and went into halftime up 9-4. But it was all Denver in the second half, as the Pioneers went on an 8-2 run, including a 5-1 advantage in the fourth quarter. It was the largest deficit ever overcome in NCAA quarterfinals history. Eric Law led Denver with three goals and three assists.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Syracuse will meet a familiar foe in the semifinals, as Denver is coached by Bill Tierney. You may remember Tierney from his run with Princeton, where he won six national championships (all with the Tigers) and currently is second in career NCAA postseason wins (35). Desko, with five titles to his name, has owned the all-time series between the two coaches, 13-5. Tierney has one of the top scorers in the NCAA in Law, who is 11th in the NCAA in points per game (4.17) and has 40 goals on the season.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Syracuse last played Denver in the 2011 season opener, with the Orange winnning 13-7 at home. JoJo Marasco had a pair of goals and assists, and SU never trailed in the game. Syracuse is currently 3-0 in the all-time series against the Pioneers.

GAME INFORMATION: Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in Philadelphia. TV: ESPN2.

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Memphis transfer Antonio Barton told CBSSports.com early Wednesday that he’ll announce on Sunday where he’ll play his final year of college basketball next season. He said he’ll pick between Kansas State, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Barton, a 6-foot-2 guard, is transferring in search of more playing time. The Baltimore native averaged a career-low 16.7 minutes per game this past season because of the emergence of fellow guards Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford and Geron Johnson, each of whom is returning to the Tigers next season.

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» Related: Whitehead getting attention from Minnesota

For more Syracuse coverage, Like our Facebook page and follow us @TheJuiceOnline.

The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team was well on its way to its first NCAA Final Four since 2009 before the offense went silent for more than 40 minutes. Trailing 6-4 with 3:04 to play, the Orange rallied to tie the game with goals 46 seconds apart.

Goalie Dominic Lamolinara then denied Yale on the doorstep, Dylan Donahue notched the game winner with 13 seconds remaining and the Syracuse senior class avoided becoming the first since 1979 to miss championship weekend in each of its four years on campus.

Syracuse won this game, its ninth one-goal game of the season, because it didn’t panic and it made big plays when they counted most. No. 22 JoJo Marasco willed the team to victory with patience and excellent decision-making while picking up assists on the Orange’s final two goals.

Syracuse needs more magic this weekend

» Related: Lax final fours cap golden year in SU athletics

The team will need that level of contribution, perhaps more, when it faces Denver at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and again on Monday against either Cornell or Duke.

The Denver Pioneers (14-4), led by former Orange nemesis and Princeton coach Bill Tierney, are a scrappy bunch and own a potent offense that can flip on in a second. The team battled back from a 6-0 deficit to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the quarterfinals.

Like Syracuse, the Pioneers are more than comfortable playing in tight games. The team ended the season 5-3 in one-goal games. Its four losses—to Penn State, Notre Dame, Fairfield and Ohio State—were by a combined six goals.

Senior attack Eric Law leads Denver with 75 points (40 goals, 35 assists). He ranks 11th in the NCAA in points per game (4.17) and 19th in assists per game (1.94). Linemate Wes Berg has notched 56 goals, second nationally to Cornell’s Steve Mock (59).

Meanwhile, midfielder Cameron Flint is Denver’s third 50-point scorer, producing 36 goals and 14 assists this season.

Faceoff specialist Chase Carraro ranks 14th in the country at the X, winning 57 percent of his draws.

Tierney goes with a timeshare in the net. Goaltenders Ryan LaPlante and Jamie Faus have shared time in the cage all season. Against North Carolina, LaPlante got the starting nod, but let in six goals in less than 10 minutes. Faus replaced him and surrendered just five goals the rest of the way.

LaPlante has a save percentage of .557 and a goals-against average of 10.14 in nearly 604 minutes played. Faus has a .567 save percentage and a 9.07 goals-against average.

For Syracuse to win on Saturday (and potentially Monday), it will need Marasco to create opportunities for his teammates. It will need Scott Loy and Henry Schoonmaker to score on the run.

It will need Brian Megill, Dave Hamlin, Matt Harris and the rest of the Orange defense to slow down Denver’s dynamic offense. It will need Lamolinara to make key stops.

It will need to limit the deficit at the faceoff X.

» Related: SU finds familiar foe in Final Four

It may need someone or someones (Matt Pratt and Drew Jenkins) to step up in place of midfielder Steve Ianzito, who injured his ankle against Yale.

I wrote off this team multiple times this season for its inconsistent play, its inability to put away its opponents and its weakness at the faceoff X. And all it did was prove me wrong.

Credit Coach John Desko for the job he’s done this season; it may be his best coaching job yet.

Syracuse found some magic against Yale. Now it needs to create some more on championship weekend. The team has a chance to capture its 12th national title—the most unlikely and satisfying yet.

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One of the top targets that the Gophers staff has identified is Isaiah Whitehead, a four-star shooting guard out of New York City. Again, the Gophers will have quite a battle on their hands if they hope to land the talented shooting guard, but they won’t miss out on him for a lack of effort. Whitehead recently discussed Richard Pitino in an article from InsideTheVille, saying that he had a “great impression” of Pitino and that “he came in with a very good vibe.” Minnesota will have a lot of ground to make up on Whitehead’s leaders, Syracuse and Louisville, but they’ve already shown to be hard after him.

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Over the next four months, Syracuse’s returners from last year’s Final Four run will hit the weight room, mix it up in summer leagues, and spend countless hours alone in the gym shooting. It is the same ritual every year, and Syracuse has seen some remarkable transformations – and some not so much.

How can an Orange player make sure he’s ready come Midnight Madness? Fortunately, I’ve put together a list of historical role models they can look to for advice and some examples they would be wise to avoid.

Too much was expected of Cooney in his first year

Trevor Cooney

After a redshirt year where he simply had too many players in front of him in the rotation, big things were expected out of Cooney last year. We all know how that turned out. Now Syracuse must rely on the least experienced backcourt it has had in years. Cooney will compete with Duke transfer Michael Gbinije and freshman Ron Patterson for time beside freshman point guard Tyler Ennis. If Cooney is to see the court consistently, he will need to regain the form that gained him the reputation as a sharp shooter in high school.

» Related: A look at Syracuse’s 2013-14 wings

Player to emulate: Andy Rautins, summer of ’06. Rautins also came to SU with the reputation of 3-point specialist, but he only shot 32.6 percent his freshman season. This is a lot better than Cooney’s 26.7 percent, but Cooney should take Rautins’ sophomore-year improvement as an example. Rautins improved his 3-point percentage to 35.6 percent while connecting on 67 shots from behind the arc in 21 minutes per game. If Cooney could do the same, most Orange fans would be happy. And if Cooney continued on Rautins’ trajectory, then the future would bode very well.

Example to avoid: Josh Wright, summer of ’05. Josh Wright came to Syracuse as a highly rated point guard in 2004 (#36 overall in the RSCI). He was meant to be McNamara’s backup and eventual replacement. Wright saw little playing time his freshman year and ran into trouble off the court. Despite a few highlights, he showed little improvement in his sophomore season and the rest of his career. He lost his starting spot his junior season, and he quit the team the following year because of personal and academic issues. There’s no reason to believe Cooney will have the same troubles, but if he fails to improve like Wright, he will similarly be replaced on the depth chart.

Michael Gbinije

Gbinije was the 28^th ranked recruit in the 2011 class, just three spots behind Michael Carter-Williams. After sitting out last season, the Duke transfer will now battle Cooney and Patterson for minutes as SU’s shooting guard. How he will perform has been subject to much speculation, but the transfer will remain an enigma until October at the earliest. He’s known to have a jump shot and handled the ball as the second-team point guard during SU’s practices this past season.

Player to emulate: Wesley Johnson, summer of ’09. We all know what the Iowa State transfer did in his one season on the Hill. Not realistic expectations for Gbinije? Ok, how about Jason Cipolla, summer of ’95. The Tallahassee Community College transfer, who is built in the same mold as Gbinije, averaged 10.2 ppg and 2 apg in his two seasons at Syracuse. Most importantly, in his first season he hit one of the most important shots in Syracuse history to help the ’95-’96 team reach the NCAA Championship Game.

» Related: A look at the 2013-14 SU hoops team

Example to avoid: Matt Tomaszewski, summer of ’10. For some reason, the University of Tampa transfer never managed to see much playing time. Hopefully Gbinije can avoid the same fate.

Tyler Ennis

Player to emulate: Gerry McNamara, summer of ’02. Ennis could do worse than choosing the only Syracuse freshman point guard to lead the team to a National Championship as his role model.

Ron Patterson

Player to emulate: Dion Waiters, summer of ’09. A big, physical guard, Patterson’s playing time will depend on the performance of Gbinije and Cooney because the shooting guard spot is presumably theirs to lose. Even if the more “established” guards perform well, Patterson could still see playing time as a physical defensive stopper. Waiters certainly came to Syracuse with more hype and expectations, but he arrived to find a backcourt crowded with more established players and did not start. Waiters used his physical tools to earn playing time, and Patterson will have to do the same.

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Isaiah Briscoe, the talented sophomore combo guard from Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep, has picked up offers from Indiana and Ohio State, his father told SNY.tv. The 6-foot-3 Briscoe is the Rivals No. 16 player in the Class of 2015 and has been consistently recruited by Syracuse, Arizona and Florida, among others. “With Ohio state and Indiana, me personally it’s an honor to hear from both of them,” George Briscoe told SNY.tv.

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» Related: Syracuse falling behind for Barton

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I’m not really a senior anymore, considering I graduated from SU a week and a half ago. But to have the men’s lacrosse team reach the Final Four in a season that was played throughout my senior year is fitting for the last four years of Syracuse sports. I’ll get to basketball and football (and the other sports) in a bit, but let me take you back to Memorial Day weekend 2009 for a minute.

It has been an incredible year in Syracuse athletics

The men’s lax team, of course, won the title that weekend, its second straight. I was going to be a freshman in the fall, and it was the first sport I rooted for at Syracuse (yes, even before basketball). But in my four years at Syracuse, the team either performed superbly in the regular season and flamed in the Tournament, or just didn’t live up to the Syracuse lacrosse name.

» Related: Syracuse finds old foe waiting in the NCAA semifinals

But now, four years later, the Orange has returned to the Final Four. I’m now looking back at Syracuse with fondness in 2013, and not forward like 2009. But we can hope to have the same result—a championship. It would make sense.

This year was perhaps the best year in perhaps one of the best four-year spans in Syracuse athletic history. What can I say, the Class of 2013 has some luck to it. Final Fours in men’s basketball, men’s and women’s lacrosse and field hockey. A women’s basketball trip to the NCAA Tournament. A bowl win for football.

There has been constant success among all SU teams in the four years I spent in Syracuse. An amazing period for men’s basketball, a resurgence in football, and finally a run in men’s lacrosse this year, the three most popular sports at Syracuse.

This year was the year all three came together, especially men’s basketball and football. When the basketball team earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament my freshman year, the football team was 4-8. When the football team won the Pinstripe Bowl my sophomore year, the basketball team bowed out in the second round of the Tourney. And in my junior year, when the men’s basketball team went to the Elite 8 as a No. 1 seed, the football team free-fell and finished 5-7.

This year, I didn’t expect the football team to go 7-5, win the Pinstripe Bowl over West Virginia, and have Ryan Nassib set records. I didn’t expect the men’s basketball team, with the loss of four key players and a tailspin-end of a regular season, to make the Final Four. And I didn’t expect the men’s lacrosse team to make the Final Four. But I still never lost faith. When the football team got off to a slow start, I knew they could turn it around. When the men’s basketball team swept away a disappointing end to the regular season with a gutsy Big East tournament run, I knew they had an NCAA Tournament run in them.

» Related: Syracuse advances to final four with in over Yale

So regardless of what happens in the men’s lacrosse Final Four (or the women’s), these past four years in Syracuse athletics have been pretty darn good (we’re talking on the field, not off the field, because that’s been quite a trip).

The men’s basketball Final Four trip was icing on the cake of my four years rooting for Syracuse. I hope the incoming freshman get to see a men’s lacrosse championship like I did those four years ago.

I hope they see a win that will propel the Orange to another successful four years (but this time, in the ACC), on the court and field. I’ll still be rooting for SU, just no longer from the student section.

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