Orange, Irish Meet Sunday for ACC Crown

2014 ACC Championship – #4 Syracuse (10-3) vs. #9 Notre Dame (7-5)
Details	Sunday, April 27 \| Chester, Pa. \| 1 p.m. Tournament Central \| Bracket \| Live Stats \| PPL Park \| Weather
Game Coverage	TV: ESPNU \| Radio: WTKW 99.5 FM (Syracuse) Cuse.com: Listen \| WatchESPN.com: Watch Twitter: @Cuse, @SUMensLax
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide
Notre Dame Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide

CHESTER, Pa. – The two ACC newcomers have made their presence felt in their first year in the league. Third-seeded Syracuse (10-3) and No. 4 seed Notre Dame (7-5) each won their semifinal matchups and will square off at 1 p.m. for the conference championship Sunday, April 27 at PPL Park. The winner receives the league's automatic berth in the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship.

Both teams advanced to the title game in exciting fashion. Syracuse dispatched Duke, 16-15, on a last-second goal by Dylan Donahue. The Irish were 6-5 winners over top seed Maryland. Matt Kavanagh's goal with seven seconds left was the difference in that one.

ORANGE LOOKING TO GO 5-FOR-5
Every year Syracuse has been in a conference it has won a league championship. The Orange will try to keep that streak going in its first ACC title game.

The Orange spent four seasons in the BIG EAST (2010-13) and won four conference crowns. Prior to that Syracuse was an independent. The team's four consecutive conference championships is the longest active streak in the nation. In fact, the only comparable stretch in the last 10 years is Cornell's eight straight Ivy titles from 2004-11 (includes ties).

SU holds a 5-0 all-time record in conference tournament games. Coincidentally, all of those games have been played in the Philadelphia area. In addition to PPL Park hosting this year's ACC Tournament, Villanova was the site of 2012 and 2013 BIG EAST Championships.

ANOTHER DOUBLE-DIGIT WIN SEASON
With 10 victories in 2014, Syracuse has reached double-digit wins for the 45th time in 98 varsity lacrosse seasons. The Orange has won at least 10 games in 13 of John Desko's 16 years as head coach.

A WIN AGAINST NOTRE DAME WOULD …
… Be the program's 857th victory, second all-time behind Hopkins (943).
… Improve SU's record to 96-23 since the start of the 2008 season.
… Be John Desko's 198th career coaching win.
… Clinch SU's fifth straight conference championship and its first ACC title.
… Extend SU's winning streak to seven games.
… Make the Orange 3-0 all-time at PPL Park..
… Increase Syracuse's record to 6-0 all-time in conference tournament games.
… Mark the Orange's seventh win this season versus a top-10 team.

SECOND MIDFIELD STEPPING UP
Second-line midfielders Billy Ward (17), Nicky Galasso (9) and Derek Maltz (12) all have at least nine goals this season. In addition, the trio combined for five goals in SU's ACC semifinal win versus Duke. Maltz and Ward both had two and Galasso had one. Ward's second goal tied the game, 15-15, with 14.7 seconds to go.

Ward has at least one goal in five straight games and at least one point in the last nine. He's scored at least two goals in each of the last three outings.Galasso has seven goals in the last seven games. Maltz canned two goals Friday versus Duke to end a personal three-game scoreless streak.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
All-ACC attackman Matt Kavanagh is the key to the Irish offense. He leads the club in goals (24), assists (23) and points (47). Conor Doyle (20 goals, eight assists) and Sergio Perkovic (15 goals, three assists) are Notre Dame's next two leading scorers.

The Irish are very efficent with the extra man. Notre Dame is 25-for-47 (.532) on man-up opportunities and came into this weekend ranked second nationally in EMO percentage.

After being replaced partway through the year by Shane Doss, Conor Kelly has started the last two games in the cage. In Friday's semifinal against Maryland, Kelly made 12 saves to anchor a Notre Dame defense that gave up just five goals to the Terps.

Head coach Kevin Corrigan is in his 26th season at Notre Dame and owns a 248-119 (.676) record with the Irish. Overall, he is 258-134 (.658) in 28 seasons as a college head coach. Corrigan ranks ninth among active Division I coaches in winning percentage and sixth in victories. He's guided the Irish to the Final Four twice in the last four years.

THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
SU is 8-1 all-time against Notre Dame and has won three straight versus the Irish. Earlier this season, the Orange posted an 11-10 victory over Notre Dame at the Carrier Dome. Junior Kevin Rice scored the game-winner with 2:05 remaining. The deciding goal was part of a six-point (four goals, two assists) effort from Rice.

Syracuse won the first five games in the series before Notre Dame ended the Orange's reign with an 8-6 win at Arlotta Stadium in 2012.

Overall, Syracuse is 4-0 versus the Irish at neutral sites and 1-0 against them in conference tournament games. The Orange topped the Irish, 9-3, in last year's BIG EAST semifinals.

UP NEXT ...
Syracuse wraps up regular-season action Saturday, May 3 at home against Colgate. Faceoff between the Orange and Raiders is set for 4 p.m. on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

Syracuse University Athletics

Next Event

Related Videos