The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team (12-2), earned the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host IVY League champion Yale (10-5) at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 14 in the Carrier Dome in a first round matchup.
This is the fifth-consecutive season that Syracuse will host the first round of the NCAA Tournament by way of earning one of the nation’s top-eight seeds. It’s also the 10th-straight NCAA Tournament that Syracuse will be represented in and marks the 34th time in the last-35 seasons that ‘Cuse advances to NCAA Tournament play.
The winner of the Syracuse and Yale matchup will head to Newark, Delaware on Sunday, May 21 for the NCAA Quarterfinal at Delaware to face the winner of the No. 7 seed Penn State and Towson matchup. Championship Weekend will take place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. with semifinal action on May 27 and the champion being crowned on May 29.
Syracuse has faced Yale twice previously in the NCAA Tournament, owning a 2-0 record against the Bulldogs in postseason play. Syracuse most recently defeated Yale 7-6 in the 2013 NCAA Quarterfinal in College Park, Maryland. The teams’ first tournament matchup came in the 1992 NCAA Quarterfinal at the Carrier Dome, a game Syracuse won 17-8. Overall, ‘Cuse is 19-4 against Yale in the team’s history, including a 4-0 mark in the Carrier Dome.
‘Cuse boasts a 28-3 record in NCAA Tournament games played in the Carrier Dome and 12-4 record all-time in NCAA Tournament First Round matchups since the tournament expanded to its current format. The Orange have been the No. 2 overall seed on nine different occasions, most recently in both 2014 and 2015 and have won the NCAA Championship in three of those instances (2009, 2002 and 1989).
The Orange is one-of-four ACC teams to gain entrance into the 17-team field, tying the Big Ten for the most among any conference. SU has played in six games against teams represented in the tournament, including two against North Carolina, with Syracuse going 5-1 against tournament teams this season.
Yale is led by Tewaaraton Award semifinalist Ben Reeves, who ranks fifth nationally with 5.21 points per game. The Bulldogs have played two games vs. teams in the 2017 tournament field, falling by one goal to No. 1 overall seed Maryland and losing by one to Albany as well.
Heading into the 2017 NCAA Tournament, head coach John Desko owns the best winning percentage among active head coaches who have appeared in at least 10 games during NCAA Tournament play. Desko is 33-12 (.733) in postseason play, with his 33 wins second among active head coaches and fourth all-time. His next win in the NCAA Tournament would tie his mentor, former Orange head coach Roy Simmons Jr. for third on the all-time list.
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