Syracuse will play St. John’s in the Big East Championship with an automatic bid to the NCAA at stake.
IN SYRACUSE’S LAST GAME: Syracuse avenged a loss to Villanova in March by scoring nine second-half goals to cruise to a 15-6 win. Bobby Wardwell notched 12 saves while Tommy Palasek had a goal and three assists in the win. Sophomore faceoff specialist Ricky Buhr had a career day, helping SU to a 13-12 advantage at faceoff X.
» Orange step up with season on the line
» Syracuse advances to Big East championship with 15-6 win
IN ST. JOHN’S LAST GAME: St. John’s upset No. 1 seed Notre Dame 8-7 in the other Big East semifinal. The Red Storm took an early 8-3 advantage before Notre Dame scored four goals in the fourth quarter but St. John’s hung out. Kieran McArdle, who was named to the All Big East First Team, led the way with three goals and an assist.
SCOUTING THE RED STORM: McArdle led the Big East in scoring during the regular season with 49 points. Lowman has also been solid in net, as he was an All Big East Second Team selection, posting 162 saves and a .559 save percentage.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Syracuse faced the Red Storm earlier this year in Queens, and escaped with a 9-8 win. With 1:25 left, attackman Tim Desko scooped up a loose ball right in front of the St. John’s net and fired past goalie Jeff Lowman. It was Desko’s second goal of the game, and proved to be the difference.
GAME INFORMATION: Saturday, May 5, Villanova, Pa., 12 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Follow us @TheJuiceOnline for live game updates.
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