FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Syracuse has dealt with the pressure of high expectations and losing a sick goalie in a big game. To defend their national title, the Orange lacrosse team will have to beat a squad that’s overcome its own obstacles.
Syracuse plays Duke on Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. The other semifinal pits top-ranked Virginia (15-2) against fifth-seeded Cornell (12-3).
Third-seeded Duke survived three early season losses, and barely got past archrival North Carolina, 12-11, in the quarterfinals to stay alive for the national title.
“It was just, I think, hard work, work ethic, and that gets established in September,” said Duke coach John Danowski. “You know when you have to get up at six in the morning, four days a week to lift and to practice … Then it’s just you have to play the games.”
Syracuse lost starting goalie John Galloway to illness before its quarterfinal match against Maryland. But backup Al Cavalieri came through in the 11-6 win. Galloway is expected back against Duke (15-3).
“Sometimes the backup goalie might be there for four years and never get a shot on the field like Alex had,” said Syracuse coach John Desko. “But this kind of validates what coaches say about their backup goaltenders, how important a role they play and they have to be ready at any time.”
Second-seeded Syracuse (14-2) has won 10 NCAA lacrosse titles, defeating Johns Hopkins 13-10 in last year’s final.
Among Division I head coaches, Virginia’s Dom Starsia has the most NCAA appearances with 21 and the most tournament wins with 27. Virginia has four national titles, their most recent in 2006. The Cavaliers defeated Cornell 14-10 in a regular-season match in March.
“I’ve always had great respect for Cornell,” Starsia said earlier this week. “I feel like it’s a team that clearly gets our players’ attention and I think it’s turned into an exciting rivalry.”
Cornell won the first-ever Division I men’s lacrosse title in 1971 and again in 1976 and ’77. Cornell beat Princeton 6-4 last week in its quarterfinal and Coach Jeff Tambroni said his team will have to play similar defense against Virginia.
“We’re really going to have to concern ourselves with our team defensive scheme and think less about every single matchup or individual that they put on the field,” he said.
The winners of Saturday’s matches meet Monday for the national title. Last year’s Division I final drew 48,970 fans to Gillette Stadium, a record for both lacrosse and any NCAA outdoor championship. The total attendance of 145,828 also set a tournament record.
On Sunday, Cortland State plays Gettysburg at noon for the Division III men’s title, followed by LeMoyne and C.W. Post at 3 p.m. for the Division II crown.