Syracuse

It was barely 15 minutes after Johns Hopkins had beaten Towson State, 15-8, Saturday night at Minnegan Stadium, when Blue Jays lacrosse coach Tony Seaman delivered the first salvo at friend and Syracuse coach Roy Simmons Jr.It's a fun-loving feud."

Scary, isn't it?No. 1 Syracuse (2-0) has had only three days of practice outdoors, but the Orangemen are off to an uncharacteristically fast start. They've beaten rival North Carolina, 17-10, and Yale, 12-7.Next up is No. 4 Johns Hopkins (2-1) today at 2 p.m. on the artificial surface of Homewood Field."This is all kind of new to me," said Roy Simmons Jr., 58, who has a 231-82 overall record in 23 seasons as coach at Syracuse, XTC including five NCAA Division I championships."We usually don't have our legs under us or a lot of stamina at this point of the season," said Simmons, whose team was 1-2 at this time last season.

The next port of call for Loyola's lacrosse team is Syracuse.The Greyhounds can now direct their attention to an exhibition vTC next weekend against the three-time defending NCAA champion on Syracuse's outdoor field after retaining their title in the second annual Choice-Visa Lacrosse Classic at UMBC over the weekend.Loyola coach Dave Cottle scheduled the exhibition at Syracuse for several reasons, one being that he wants his players to be familiar with the site of next spring's NCAA Final Four.

Despite hanging tough with the No.1-seeded team for three quarters, Bryant lost to Syracuse, 12-7, in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Sunday. Syracuse (14-3) was led by Dylan Donahue's hat trick, while goalie Dominic Lamolinara (St. Mary's) made eight saves. Kevin Rice added two goals and two assists for the Orange. Colin Dunster and Peter McMahon each had three goals for Bryant. It was a well-rounded day for Syracuse's offense as seven players recorded at least one point.

In last year's Big East championship game, the Loyola women's lacrosse team upset Syracuse to win its second consecutive conference title, snapping the Orange's 15-game winning streak in the process. No. 5 Syracuse got a measure of revenge in the rematch Friday night by scoring six consecutive goals early in the first half en route to a 19-9 victory at the Ridley Athletic Complex. Despite the loss, No. 17 Loyola already clinched a spot in the next weekend's four-team, Big East tournament with Syracuse, Georgetown and Connecticut.

No. 9 Duke (8-3) vs. No. 13 Syracuse (4-3) Sunday, 4 p.m., East Rutherford, N.J. Outlook: This contest, the second game of the Konica Minolta Big City Classic, could be a watershed moment for the Orange, which is still reeling from Sunday's 11-10 loss to Villanova, the program's first defeat in Big East Conference play. Syracuse owns a 5-1 advantage in this series; that loss occurred in 1978. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils have ripped off five straight wins and appear to be rounding into their usual form.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun publishes a Q&A with an area college lacrosse player to get you more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Syracuse junior defenseman Brian Megill, whose brother Ray was a two-time All-American defenseman in 2006 and 2007 for Maryland. How did your brother's experience at Maryland influence your decision to attend Syracuse? He wasn't too fond of the coaching staff at the time when he was there, but now he's best friends with Coach [Dave]

The Blast were playing their second game in just 24 hours Saturday night against Syracuse, and some heavy legs may have led to a sluggish start. After being held scoreless in the opening quarter, the Blast was able to rebound and pulled away from the Silver Knights for a 10-4 win before an announced 3,038 at 1st Mariner Arena . Baltimore also put together its best defensive effort of the early season and did not allow a goal in the second half....

With No. 2 Johns Hopkins preparing to welcome No. 7 Syracuse to Homewood Field in Baltimore on Saturday, the Blue Jays would love to have their full complement of attackmen at their disposal. But it's unclear whether senior Chris Boland and freshman Wells Stanwick will be available against the Orange (3-1). “Don't know yet,” coach Dave Pietramala said of their status. “It's kind of a day-to-day, week-to-week type of thing with both guys. So we don't know yet.” Boland has missed five straight contests since injuring his shoulder in the team's season-opening victory over Towson Feb. 17. Stanwick is reportedly dealing with a hand injury that has sidelined him for the last three games.

Tuesday's news that North Carolina transfer and junior attackman Nicky Galasso will sit out the upcoming season because of a “lower-body injury” that requires surgery immediately makes 2013 a tough road for the Orange. The team graduated three of its top five scorers from last year's 9-8 squad, and two of them were starting attackmen in Tommy Palasek (24 goals and 30 assists) and Tim Desko (22, 11). Despite the return of junior attackman Derek Maltz (28, 9) and senior midfielder JoJo Marasco (12, 19)