SU and Villanova Meet in BIG EAST Final

2013 BIG EAST Championship - #5 Syracuse (12-3) at #20 Villanova (7-7)
Details	Saturday, May 4 \| Villanova, Pa. \| 12 p.m. Tournament Central \| Villanova Stadium \| Tickets \| Weather
Game Coverage	TV: ESPNU \| Radio: ESPN Radio 97.7 FM (Syracuse) WatchESPN.com: Watch Orange All Access: Listen \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse, @sumenslax
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide
Villanova Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide

VILLANOVA, Pa. -- The two BIG EAST regular-season co-champions meet for the conference tournament title when top-seeded Villanova (7-7) hosts No. 2 seed Syracuse (12-3) on Saturday, May 4 at 12 p.m. at Villanova Stadium. The winner receives the BIG EAST's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament field of 16.

The Orange is the defending BIG EAST Tournament champion and head coach John Desko's club is gunning for its fourth conference title in the four-year history of the league. Syracuse advanced to the championship game for the second year in a row by defeating Notre Dame, 9-3, in Thursday's semfinals. Villanova is making its first championship game appearance. The Wildcats knocked off fourth-seeded Georgetown in Thursday's other semifinal, 15-12.

Saturday's championship game will air live on ESPNU with Eamon McAnaney and Quint Kessenich on the call. Fans can hear the action live on the radio home of the Orange - ESPN Radio 97.7 FM in Syracuse. Live streaming audio is available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All-Access.

"Our guys want to get the BIG EAST championship," Desko said Friday. "It's our last year in the BIG EAST. We want to go out as winners. The guys are excited to play. (Villanova) is a team that beat us during the year and I think it's great that we have an opportunity to play them again."

MARASCO TIES MIDDIE ASSIST RECORD
Senior JoJo Marasco passed out four assists in Thursday's win against Notre Dame. The performance raised his season assist total to 34 to tie lacrosse legend Paul Gait for the most assists in one season by an SU midfielder (Gait had 34 assists in 1990). Marasco's four assists were also an Orange BIG EAST Tournament single-game record.

DEFENSE DOES THE JOB
The Orange defense held Notre Dame to a season-low three goals in the semifinals. Among the defensive highlights:

• Shutting out the Irish for 35:19 during the course of the game. It was the longest scoreless drought for a Syracuse opponent this season and the 13th time the Orange defense blanked a team for at least 15 minutes in 2013.
• Senior David Hamlin matched up with Notre Dame leading scorer Matt Kavanagh and held him without a point. The only other team to shut out Kavanagh this year was Hofstra back in March.
• Limiting Notre Dame to 3-for-27 (.111) shooting, including a 1-for-17 (.059) showing in the second half.
• Not allowing an extra-man goal for the second straight game. The Irish were 0-for-2 with the extra man.

Click here to read the full recap of SU's semifinal triumph over the Irish.

LECKY TURNING IT ON
After scoring two goals in SU's first 12 games, redshirt sophomore midfielder Hakeem Lecky has five goals in the last three. Lecky got untracked with a goal at Georgetown on April 20. He added two against Notre Dame in the Big City Classic and two more against the Irish in the BIG EAST semifinals.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Villanova evened its record at 7-7 with its BIG EAST semifinal win against Georgetown. The Wildcats need to win Saturday to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. A loss drops them below .500, making them ineligible for an at-large berth.

Attackman Jack Rice leads the squad with 35 goals. He had a team-high five goals against Georgetown in the conference semifinals. In addition to Rice, the Wildcats have three more players with at least 25 points, including All-BIG EAST honorees Max Hart (20 goals, 11 assists) and John Kluh (16 goals, nine assists). Kevin O'Neil has 26 points, including a squad-best 12 assists.

John LoCascio, the 2013 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, heads up the Villanova defense. LoCascio has 79 ground balls and 51 caused turnovers from his long-stick midfield spot. Goalie Reed Carlson is the starter between the pipes. Carlson has six of Villanova's seven wins this year. He's started nine games and owns a 9.83 goals-against average with 79 saves.

Faceoffs played a critical role in SU's regular-season loss to the Wildcats. Villanova's Thomas Croonquist won 22 of the game's 24 faceoffs to limit the Orange's possessions. Croonquist received 2013 All-BIG EAST First Team honors as a faceoff specialist and he is 184-for-331 (.556) at the X this season.

THE SERIES
Syracuse is 5-2 all-time against the Wildcats. The Orange has outscored Villanova 100-52 in the seven games. The Wildcats are the only BIG EAST team to beat the Orange twice in conference play, including an 11-10 regular-season win at Villanova Stadium earlier this year. The two sides met in last year's BIG EAST semifinals with Syracuse emerging victorious, 15-6.

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