Over the weekend, #18 Loyola tried like hell to make the #2 Syracuse Men's Lax team play their pace. Slow and deliberate. The Orange would have none of it, out-shooting the Greyhounds 56-28 and winning 13-8. Loyola raced out to the 2-0 lead and controlled the tempo early but the Orange adjusted and took over in the 2nd half:Freshman goalie John Galloway started making a few saves, and the Orange started finishing around the cage. Suddenly, midway through the third quarter, Syracuse scored four four consecutive goals, and Loyola could no longer play its slow-down style.The Orange, who came into the game tied for #2 in the nation with Duke, also had a little bonus to play for. Earlier in the day, #1 Virginia lost 13-7 to Maryland and the door was swung open for a new top of the heap. Duke routed Dartmouth 16-9 but Syracuse's win was over the most impressive opponent. Couple with their close play against Virginia and wins over Johns Hopkins and Georgetown, it was enough to move the Orange into the #1 spot for the first time since 2004.
The 7-1 Orange received 347 votes (9 first-place) but Duke is nipping at their heels at #2 with 342 votes (8 first-place). Syracuse's next opponent will be #14 Princeton (4-3) who's coming off an 11-8 win over Yale. The Tigers will likely play a slower style similar to the one Loyola came with so the Orange will be well prepared and wary of the upset. They play this Saturday.
As for the ladies, they continue to cut a swath through the lesser competition, whooping up on Cincinnati (1-8) by a score of 23-4. Junior Katie Rowan scored nine points and became the second women’s lacrosse player in the school history to register 200 career points. SU (8-2) entered this week's polls at #5. 10-0 Northwestern (natch) is your #1. The ladies return to action on Wednesday against Albany (7-2).
(Photo: InsideLacrosse)