'Cuse Women Have Tough Road to Hoe in 2010

from press release

The 2010 Syracuse women’s lacrosse team’s schedule includes seven contests against teams that competed in last season’s NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a match up against five-time defending national champion Northwestern. The Orange will play nine home matches, including four against BIG EAST opponents.

“We have another strong schedule,” said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. “Last season we ranked No. 10 in strength of schedule. We expect this year’s schedule to be just as challenging.”

Syracuse opens the season with a pair of home games against 2009 Patriot League champion Colgate (Feb. 19) and Stanford (Feb. 21). The Orange goes on the road for the first time on Feb. 27 when it plays another NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, Virginia, in Charlottesville. After taking on Vermont in Florida on Mar. 8, Syracuse returns home to host Towson on Mar. 17. The Tigers lost to national runner-up North Carolina in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.

Defending national champion Northwestern visits Syracuse on Mar. 21, starting a three-game home stand for SU. The Wildcats have lost only four regular-season games during the past five seasons. Following a Mar. 24 game against Dartmouth, the Orange begins its quest for a third consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title when it faces Rutgers on Mar. 28.

Syracuse plays at Boston University on Apr. 3 in a re-match of last year’s NCAA first-round contest before returning to conference action on Apr. 11 at Connecticut. The Orange’s road swing continues at Notre Dame on Apr. 11. Syracuse and the Fighting Irish split the two meetings in 2009. The Orange won the regular-season contest, while Notre Dame became the first team to beat SU in the BIG EAST Tournament, defeating the Orange in the semifinals. The Fighting Irish went on to win the conference tournament and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament where it lost to Princeton.

The Orange hosts Loyola (Apr. 16) and BIG EAST newcomer Villanova (Apr. 18) before going on the road for three straight against Cornell (Apr. 21), Cincinnati (Apr. 23) and Louisville (Apr. 25). Syracuse closes out the regular season at home against Georgetown on May 1.

The BIG EAST Tournament will be held May 6 and 8 at Rutgers. The NCAA Championship begins May 16, culminating with the national semifinals and finals on May 28 and 30 at Towson, Md.

Syracuse finished the 2009 season with a 14-5 overall record. The Orange won a share of the BIG EAST title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.