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Syracuse fell one spot to No. 9 in Inside Lacrosse’s weekly rankings on Monday following the Orange’s 22-8 blowout loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. The Fighting Irish remained at No. 4 after the win.

The NCAA selection committee will select eight teams to receive an at-large bid on Sunday, and eight teams will receive automatic qualifier bids. IL’s Quint Kessenich wrote that Syracuse “no longer looks like a top-eight seed,” but that the Orange’s NCAA Tournament resume “is a lock.”

Syracuse has one game remaining against Robert Morris on Friday, one which head coach John Desko and the Orange added to their schedule to replace their previously canceled game against Utah.

Syracuse hung with Notre Dame during the first quarter on Saturday and took a 4-3 lead to open the second. Notre Dame went on a 9-2 run in the second quarter, crushing the Orange and stretching the game out of reach by halftime. SU conceded a season-high 22 goals against a Fighting Irish offense that previously averaged less than 14 goals a game. 

Sophomore star Pat Kavanagh assisted five goals and scored another five himself, setting UND’s program record for most points in a single game (10). Syracuse’s defense crumbled, sliding too slowly or not sliding at all. 

After giving up nine points to Kavanagh in the teams’ first matchup, Syracuse emphasized that it needed to be sharper and more prepared for the next time. On Saturday, the Orange weren’t. 

North Carolina and Duke traded places in this week’s rankings, too, after the Tar Heels defeated the Blue Devils. The two split the ACC Championship. UVA moved up two spots, though it didn’t play last weekend, and Georgetown and Lehigh moved down two and four spots, respectively.

Published on May 3, 2021 at 11:56 am

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16