Syracuse 11, Notre Dame 8: Never Get Involved In A Land War With Syracuse Lacrosse

The Syracuse University Lacrosse team served notice on Saturday that in spite of their No. 1 ranking and undefeated season to-date, the Fightin' Irish still ain't the Orange.

In front of almost 15k in a rockin' Dome, No. 4 Syracuse put up double-digits on one of the nation's most dominating defenses, winning the game 11-8. The win guarantees at least a share of the Big East crown. It also gives SU a credible shot at returning to the top of the rankings on Monday.

Feeding off the rush provided by the crowd, Syracuse (13-1, 5-0 Big East) erased a 2-0 deficit with a four-goal run over the final six minutes of the first quarter and never looked back.

In the process the Orange seniors earned the 58th victory since they arrived in the fall of 2008, a school record. They also became the first team to score double-digit goals this season on the Irish (10-1, 5-1), who entered the contest allowing only 5.9 goals per game. The last team to score double digits against the Irish: SU during ND’s regular-season finale last season (12-6), 14 games ago.

The loss to Cornell a few weeks back seems to have had the desired effect. The Orange played what might have been their best game of the season (at least in the eyes of Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan). SU committed a season-low eight turnovers and most of those happened late in the game with the result almost wrapped up. Notre Dame committed 17 turnovers.

Goalie John Galloway made 12 saves against the Irish, many of which he made in the first quarter to help set the tone and keep the Orange in the game.

Stephen Keogh was the offensive star of the game, scoring four goals. None more exciting than the "bottoms-up" one he scored with 3:23 left in the second quarter:

Jeremy Thompson and Tommy Palasek both added two goals while JoJo Marasco scored a goal and dished on an assist (Full boxscore here).

With the win, the Orange likely wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Only St. John's (4-9) remains on Saturday and barring a collapse unlike anything we've ever seen, the Orange should win-out the regular season.

As for this week's rankings, the Orange make a great case to return to the No. 1 spot. They just knocked off the No. 1 team in the nation and hold a 3-1 record against the other teams in the current Top 5. Their only loss came to No. 2/3 Cornell, who might get the top spot on account of that. We already know of at least two media members voting the Orange No. 1, we'll see how it plays out.  All I know is, if one person votes Hopkins over Cuse, I will seek and destroy (And yes, I know it doesn't ultimately matter, but still...IT'S REAL TO ME, DAMMIT).

Special tip of the hat to all the Orange fans who packed the Dome for this one. It was Dave Rahme's wet dream in there. Great crowd, great fans and great atmosphere. Most importantly, great win.