Syracuse will try to advance to the NCAA semifinals when they take on Ivy League champion Yale in College Park, Md.
IN SYRACUSE’S LAST GAME: The Orange knocked off NEC Champion Bryant, 12-7, at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse had to rally from an early 4-0 deficit as Bryant dominated the Orange at the faceoff X. But after SU head coach John Desko called timeout to settle his team down, Syracuse started playing like the No. 1 team in the tournament. Dylan Donahue’s goal with four seconds left in the first half made it 5-5, and the Orange went ahead for good in the 3rd quarter behind Donahue, Luke Cometti and Kevin Rice each scoring his second goal of the game in the period.
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IN YALE’S LAST GAME: Yale upset No. 8 Penn State, 10-7, to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. Yale also had to overcome an early deficit, as the Bulldogs trailed Penn State 5-1 going into halftime. But Yale would outscore Penn State 9-2 the rest of the way, as Colin Flaherty led the Bulldogs with three second-half goals. It was the first time Yale advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in 21 years.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Yale has one of the best defenses in the country, as the Bulldogs finished 7th in scoring defense, allowing just 8 games per game. They are led by goalie Eric Natale, who has a 7.93 goals against average, and a .533 save percentage. Brandon Mangan leds the offense with 25 assists and 61 points.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: The last time these two teams played was in the 2000 season, with the Orange winning, 16-8. Syracuse leads the all-time series 18-4, and has won the last nine games. The last time Yale defeated SU was in the 1963 season.
GAME INFORMATION: Saturday, May 18 at 3 p.m. in College Mark, Md. TV: ESPN2. SNY’s Eamon McAnaney will be on play-by-play, Quint Kessenich will be the analyst and Paul Carcaterra will report from the sideline.
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