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Syracuse dropped five spots to No. 9 on Monday in this week’s Inside Lacrosse rankings, tying for the Orange’s lowest ranking of the season. SU lost 18-11 against then-No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome.

The Fighting Irish have since moved up to No. 4, trading places with SU following their blowout victory. The loss marked the first time that head coach John Desko’s team has been defeated in back-to-back conference games since 2016, which also came against the same two opponents, Duke and Notre Dame. 

The Orange’s defense collapsed in the second quarter, allowing a 9-2 run by the Fighting Irish and a lead that UND never relinquished. Attack Pat Kavanagh finished with four goals and five assists against SU’s defense, including a two-minute span in the fourth quarter where he picked out Will Yorke three consecutive times for three goals in a row. UND dominated the faceoff X and the ground-ball battle, winning 23-9 and 45-20, respectively. 

Syracuse’s offense managed just 24 total possessions and scored what Desko called a surprisingly efficient 11 goals.

“As crazy as it sounds, we probably didn’t play that bad offensively for the amount of time we had the ball,” Desko said postgame. 

North Carolina and Maryland switched places Monday after then-No. 2 UNC lost to No. 1 Duke on Thursday in overtime. Syracuse plays Albany in a short week on Thursday and will face the No. 3 Tar Heels on Saturday in the Dome, the first game where fans from the general public will be allowed to attend.

Published on April 5, 2021 at 9:38 am

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16