Syracuse will enter the NCAA tournament with a clean slate. The Orange will have a week to brush off a heartbreaking loss to Connecticut and return to its dominant ways.

No. 5 Syracuse (17-2) will play No. 16 UMass (15-8) in the first round of the tournament on Saturday at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex in University Park, Pa.

This marks the fifth straight NCAA appearance for the Orange. The team was initially disappointed it didn’t receive a high-enough seed to host the game since SU was nearly unbeatable on its own turf. Syracuse has won its last 36 games at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

Still, the Orange is confident it can win anywhere.

“I think we were a little disappointed,” forward Kelsey Millman said. “We have what we were given so we need to work off of that and move on, stop worrying about not being at home.”

This is a particularly interesting matchup for the Orange. It was about a month ago when UMass handed the team its only loss of the regular season by winning 2-1, halting what could have been the best start in program history.

The Orange only scored one goal in that game, unusual for the fast-paced offense the team runs. Also out of the ordinary was the fact that UMass outshot them.

Big East Defensive Player of the Year Iona Holloway said the team can’t allow UMass to dictate the game like it did last time. She said Syracuse has to come out aggressively and make sure it doesn’t make the same mistakes it did against the Huskies last weekend.

“We’re going to tighten everything up this weekend,” Holloway said. “We know that (losing the Big East championship) was just a setback. It refocused us, made us remember exactly what we want for this season.”

This time the team is confident it will be able to get past the UMass defense, citing minor changes in strategy.

This will be a challenge to the team to show it’s able to face adversity by competing against a team that has already beaten it. Ange Bradley, who was named the 2012 Big East Coach of the Year, said losing to them the first time was a learning experience.

“I’m excited to prove what we learned from that game and go back out and have an opportunity to win,” Bradley said.

The last time Syracuse played Massachusetts in the NCAA tournament was in 2008. The Orange defeated UMass and eventually went to its first and only Final Four.

The players are aware that this moment is what they have been working toward all year. Bradley said the stakes are high.

“It’s that time of year; it’s one or done,” Bradley said. “First up is UMass, we’ve got to play hard. … The kids are refocused and excited.”

Bradley said the team is playing with a sense of urgency but is making sure it isn’t too urgent because it could cause the team to accelerate the game, which could’ve been a problem against Connecticut, she said.

Syracuse is excited after a great week of practice and it gives the team the reassurance that it will be able to efficiently execute its game plan.

“Just making sure we all have the right mindset and are on the same page,” Millman said. “We know that when we play together is when we’re most successful.”

The team is relying on the chemistry and teamwork that has gotten it through a very tough season in which it beat eight ranked opponents.

Said Holloway: “We’re a proven team; we’ve beaten the best. As long as we go out and play Syracuse hockey, we’re unbeatable.”

Published on November 8, 2012 at 12:36 am

Contact Jasmine: jlwatk01@syr.edu