OXBOROUGH, Mass. - — FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - When it comes to overall depth, few teams can match Syracuse, and that will be the major factor in today's Division I championship game between No. 2 seed Syracuse and No. 5 Cornell.
Syracuse (15-2) is loaded with talent, and the Orange loves to rotate players, even on attack. Cornell's first group can match Syracuse's first group, but after that the Orange has a major advantage. If Cornell (13-3) can control Syracuse on the transition and the pace of the game, then the Big Red has a shot.
If not, Syracuse could run away with a second straight national championship, its 11th overall.
"I think confidence plays a factor in that if you can get up early, like you saw yesterday, our guys played with a lot of poise, but I don't get the sense that if we go down by three goals with this group that we have that there is going to be a lack of confidence or a panic button at this point," Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni said.
"It's going to be important, but more importantly, is going to be our guys' ability to commit to 60 minutes of lacrosse and just stay poised whether we're up by three or down by three. Syracuse is a team that can really put a lot on you in small bunches at a time."
You can predict how Cornell will play on offense. The Big Red will be methodical with attackmen Rob Pannell and Ryan Hurley playing the two-man game behind the net. It will use the clock, and at the same time look for cutters coming off high picks.
The Big Red used the strategy well in its 15-6 upset win against Virginia in the semifinals. The Cavaliers didn't decide to apply pressure defense until late in the first half, and by then Cornell had a 7-2 lead. The game was virtually over.
Syracuse won't make the same mistake. The Orange will pressure the Big Red all over the field, especially in the midfield, because that's where this game will be won. Syracuse has three strong midfields, including a splendid one on the defensive side with short-stick middies Jovan Miller, Kevin Drew and long pole Joel White.
Offensively, Syracuse can run two midfields without losing much firepower. It's not that way with Cornell. The Big Red has a great first unit with John Glynn (20 goals, 8 assists), Rocco Romero (16, 11) and Max Seibald (26, 10), but after that it's a bunch of no-names.
