When Syracuse’s seniors reflect on their first experience in the final four, they recall satisfaction with having reached that point of the 2010 season and subsequently, a 14-5 thumping at the hands of Maryland.

Three years later, the program and the players who have elevated it are demanding more of themselves as they prepare for their third time in the national semifinals.

“Our freshman year when we made it to the final four we were just happy to be there,” said senior defender Becca Block. “And this time around … I think we have to come out ready to go in the beginning of the game, not being nervous or scared, and remember that we’re there for a reason.”

Three years after the Terrapins knocked the Orange out of the final four, the two powerhouses will meet again on the national stage. No. 4-seed Syracuse (18-3) hopes to replace the painful recollections of the past with newfound memories when it takes on top-seeded and undefeated Maryland (21-0) at Villanova Stadium in Pennsylvania on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the final four.

When Gait put together SU’s nonconference slate this season, he overloaded the first half of the schedule with Top-10 opponents and national contenders with the intention of preparing the Orange for this time of year. His strategy has worked thus far but at the cost of three losses in Syracuse’s first eight games, to Florida, Maryland and Northwestern.

On Saturday, the Orange avenged its March 2 loss to UF by defeating the Gators at the Carrier Dome in the quarterfinals. Now comes another rematch.

The Terps topped SU by eight goals in the Dome on Feb. 17. Combine that disappointing defeat with UMD’s beating of the Orange in 2010, and revenge is once again a theme of the week.

“I played in that game and … they totally blew us out. Of course, you always want revenge,” said senior midfielder Bridget Daley. “That left a bad taste in our mouth. But we’re a completely different team now than from February.”

Maryland’s midfield had a field day at the Carrier Dome on Feb. 17, contributing 14 of the Terps’ 19 goals. UMD’s offense still poses a serious threat to SU’s hopes to return to the national championship game.

Katie Schwarzmann is the defending Tewaaraton Award winner and is nominated for this year’s trophy, as is Alex Aust, who ranks second nationally in points. Brooke Griffin and Taylor Cummings racked up more than 50 points each throughout the season, too.

“They’re fast, determined, two-way middies and I think that’s how we need to play,” Daley said. “I think we’re coming in with a bit of a chip on our shoulder. Defensively, we have to get after them and be a little more physical.”

Syracuse’s defense couldn’t contain the Terps’ midfielders in their last meeting, but SU insists that its defense won’t let that be the case again on Friday.

Syracuse’s current backer zone defense, Alyssa Murray said, has made adjustments that won’t allow the types of goals that UMD scored in that game. Gait said it’s a defensive scheme that severely limits the offense’s dodging into the middle and has benefitted SU against its athletic opponents.

Block said the Orange’s defensive unit has also had sufficient time to gel together and develop chemistry that didn’t exist in the season’s beginning.

“We’ve just had so much experience playing together now that it’s like second nature,” Block said. “We always have each other’s back. Our whole style of play on the defensive end and even on the attacking end is a complete 180 from where we were in February. We weren’t clicking the way we are now.”

A daunting task still lies ahead for the Orange, but Murray doesn’t see it that way. Maryland, not Syracuse, is the undefeated No. 1 seed, so “the pressure’s all on them,” she said.

The Orange knows it won’t be an easy game, but the players believe they’ve progressed and learned from its past losses to the Terps. Now they intend to get UMD back for it.

“We were pretty bummed out about the first loss but it was a wake-up call and I think we changed a lot of things about our team,” Murray said. “We hadn’t really found our true identity as the 2013 women’s lacrosse team at Syracuse, and I think that really wound up benefitting us.”

Published on May 23, 2013 at 8:00 am

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