Syracuse dropped to 2-1 on the season with a 14-10 loss to No. 1 Virginia. The Orange struggled at the X and couldn’t quite solve Virginia’s zone defense.
The Syracuse team that takes the field against Albany in the season opener at the Dome on Saturday will be hardly recognizable from the one that lost to Maryland in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals.
Syracuse opened its preseason play with a pair of victories over No. 14 Hofstra and Division II Le Moyne. The three teams played three separate games in round-robin format.
A young and largely unproven Syracuse men’s lacrosse team has a chance to carve its own niche in the program’s storied history and bring the Orange back to playoff success after two straight years of surprising early exits from the NCAA tournament.
I thought—more than a month later—Syracuse’s loss to Maryland in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals wouldn’t sting as much, but time hasn’t healed this wound.