In addition to balancing final exams, Syracuse players are also preparing for two potential NCAA tournament opponents.

But in the Orange’s 19-6 rocking of Colgate on Saturday, SU proved it can handle distractions and execute.

“That showed me a lot about these guys, they go through the last day of classes, finals, Senior Day, and they were still able to focus on Colgate,” SU head coach John Desko said. “If we can respond the same way going forward to our next few games, it’s really going to help us.”

The Orange (11-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) drew the No. 2 overall seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, and will host the winner of Bryant and Siena. The Bulldogs and Saints square off late Wednesday afternoon, and the victor will venture to the Carrier Dome for a 7:30 p.m. first-round showdown on Sunday.

Syracuse has the difficult task of preparing for a matchup against a team that won’t be determined for two more days, while the players wrap up their academics.

“We’re not sure how much information we want to give our guys,” Desko said. “We’re looking forward to finals getting over with, so the guys can focus on just lacrosse.”

Syracuse is relatively familiar with each program, having played Bryant in the opening round of the tournament last year and beginning this season at home against Siena.

In last season’s tournament opener, Bryant faceoff specialist Kevin Massa dominated the X. He won 22-of-23 and the Bulldogs built an early lead, but the Orange rebounded to win 12-7.

Against the Saints this season, the Orange exploded with eight goals in the first quarter and cruised to a 12-goal victory behind attack Kevin Rice’s eight assists and attack Dylan Donahue’s eight goals.

“With the game against Bryant last year, we were down 4-0 before we had seen the ball,” Rice said. “We know what they’re capable of. With Siena too, they had a couple guys injured early in the season when we played them and they’ve been on fire lately.”

“Whichever team we play, it’s going to be a tough game.”

Published on May 5, 2014 at 4:02 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb