The roads to Dartmouth College are unlike any other the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team has traveled this year. Windy roads twist through sparsely inhabited New England backwoods. Multi-lane highways are replaced by narrow paths.

‘I don’t know who thought to put a school there,’ Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller joked.

The six-hour bus ride to Dartmouth was a unique and memorable part of Syracuse’s 2005 season, but the game itself, held on April 12, was one of the few low points. The No. 4 Big Green handed the No. 12 Orange one of its four losses this season and snapped a six-game SU winning streak.

The NCAA committee released the bracket for this year’s women’s lacrosse tournament Sunday, revealing the Orange would once again board a bus and travel to Hanover, N.H. In a field Miller describes as ‘tight,’ Syracuse feels fortunate just to make the tournament and have another try at knocking off the Big Green today at 4 p.m.

Syracuse makes the tournament for the fifth time in its history. The Orange made the tournament four consecutive years before missing it last season. Many viewed this as a rebuilding year for SU with 15 freshman and sophomores on a 22-person roster. But the team still set the NCAA tournament as its goal, buying into Miller’s suggestion that underclassmen are just as capable to perform as seniors.

For the most part, SU proved Miller right. It won 12 games, tying the program high for wins in a season. It went to a spread-out attack, utilizing five or six scorers instead of the one or two it did last year. And maybe most important, Syracuse didn’t lose to a lower-ranked team all season.

But entering today’s game, that’s all a wash. The Orange must face the toughest competition in women’s lacrosse and do it on the road. In the program’s eight-year history, SU has never won an NCAA tournament game.

‘We’re excited to play (Dartmouth) again,’ said Syracuse junior Meghan O’Connell. ‘We’re really excited to get in the tournament. We just have to work on mistakes that we made in the (first) game. We all want to get past the first round. I guess people might not expect us to win, but we’re working hard and our team morale is just really high right now.’

Dartmouth defeated the Orange each of the past three years. Even though SU plays the Big Green every year, it’s approaching today’s game like it’s playing a new opponent. Since both teams know each other well, there isn’t an advantage for either team.

Instead, the team that controls the ball the longest and makes the fewest mistakes will ultimately win the game, Miller said. On April 12, Dartmouth had the draw control advantage, 14-9, and ended up winning the game by five goals, 13-8.

If SU fails to win draw controls, a fast team like Dartmouth can easily control the tempo and the ball, making it difficult to regain possession.

‘The loss still stings,’ said Syracuse senior Monica Joines. ‘We’ve learned something from every loss. We know what to do to win.’

Even if it manages to beat the Big Green, Syracuse would have to travel to Washington, D.C. and play Big East-champion Georgetown on Sunday.

SU also lost to Georgetown this season, 13-6, on March 12.

‘We need to play our hearts out and put together a full game,’ said Syracuse senior Courtney Palladino. ‘We don’t want this to be the last game. It means a lot. We definitely want to make history.’

Published on May 10, 2005 at 12:00 pm