After closing its regular season on a 14-game winning streak, No. 2 Syracuse enters the Big East tournament as the No. 1 seed. Hosting the conference tournament in the Carrier Dome, the Orange (15-2, 8-0 Big East) will play the No. 4 seed Georgetown (9-7, 5-3) in the semifinals Thursday at 8:15 p.m.

SU demolished the Hoyas 22-11 in the teams’ regular season meeting on April 14. The winner will advance to Saturday’s championship game against the winner of Loyola-Notre Dame.

To do so, the Orange will simply have to continue its stellar play. SU has beaten four top-10 teams already this season and forced No. 1 Northwestern into overtime on Feb. 29. It also boasts a number of players among the nation’s statistical leaders.

Sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Costantino leads the nation with a .528 save percentage, seamlessly filling the void left by All-American Liz Hogan. Sophomore attack Alyssa Murray leads the team with 59 goals and 87 points – both good for fifth in the nation – while junior attack Michelle Tumolo is right behind her with 79 points and a team-best 39 assists.

Against the Hoyas earlier in the season, Murray and Tumolo, both Tewaaraton Trophy finalists, combined for six goals and eight assists.

With the pair leading the way, SU will look to blow away Georgetown again Thursday.

-Compiled by Stephen Bailey, asst. copy editor, sebail01@syr.edu
 

Published on April 30, 2012 at 12:00 pm