Though the Syracuse men's lacrosse team owns a winning record in road games, the last two games away from the Carrier Dome have left something to be desired for senior attack Kenny Nims.
Last time on the road, Syracuse played one of its worst games of the season and lost to Princeton, 12-8, on April 4. The weekend before, Syracuse worked its way back from a four-goal fourth-quarter deficit to beat Loyola.
With the postseason and its gauntlet of games on the road approaching, Saturday's contest against Massachusetts presents the Orange with its last chance to iron out the kinks on the road.
No. 2 Syracuse also looks to end a four-game losing streak in games away from the Carrier Dome against No. 15 UMass, when the two squads tangle Saturday in Amherst, Mass., at McGuirk Alumni Stadium at 1:30 p.m. With the new Big East lacrosse conference starting next season, this is most likely the final regular-season game scheduled between the two programs.
"We haven't played well on the road this year, and that's something we've been talking about," Nims said. "So to play a strong game this weekend on the road at a place like UMass, it would be huge for us going into the playoffs. We really want to put in four quarters of solid lacrosse."
With the postseason approaching, it's important for the Orange to find consistency on the road. In the NCAA tournament, Syracuse will likely open the tournament with a home game, but the rest of the games would be away.
Though the Orange is 2-1 in road games this season, its major statistics drop significantly on the road. SU averages 13.42 goals in games this season, but just 10 per game away from the Dome. The defense yields 8.08 goals per game, but has given up 30 goals in its three away games.
Nims said the lack of road games might be a reason for the Orange's inconsistency in its last few road games. (The Orange played well in an 8-5 win over Georgetown March 7 to start its road slate.) Last season, Syracuse had six road games. In 2006 and 2007, the Orange played five games away from Syracuse.
"Just the fact of being on the road, traveling, being on the bus all day Friday, and it's different," Nims said. "Other seasons we've been used to it, pretty much every other week. This year, we've had like 10 home games, so it's been different and something we definitely need to adjust to."
The Minutemen should be a good road opponent for the Orange. Dating back to 2003, SU has lost three games away from Syracuse against the Minutemen.
UMass usually plays at small, confined Garber Field. But with a top-flight program like the Orange coming to town, the Minutemen moved the game to McGuirk Alumni Stadium, the home of the football team.
Saturday will be the only game UMass is playing at McGuirk this season. Massachusetts is trying to break a school lacrosse attendance record of 12,143 with a program aptly titled "Break the Record!"
Either way, it could be a tough task for the Orange against a nationally ranked opponent.
"Their fans are really intense," SU senior midfielder Matt Abbott said. "We usually play at Garber Field. We're not playing there this week, and you can always hear them the way it's set up, but playing at the football field is a little different atmosphere. So you really don't know what to expect, but there should a big crowd there, so it should be fun."
Syracuse has one regular season game remaining - at home against Colgate May 2. So Saturday is the Orange's final tuneup on the road before the NCAA tournament.
"This will be a big test, probably will be kind of a playoff atmosphere with the crowd and the way the crowd is, and that can take your focus away from some of the players," SU head coach John Desko said. "I think it will be great to get out there and go against a very good lacrosse team first and then go against the crowd and try to focus on things we can do better to play well at the end of the season."
mrehalt@syr.edu
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