Syracuse senior lacrosse players will take the Carrier Dome field one last time on Saturday as the Orange (10-1, 4-0) take on in-state opponent Binghamton (9-3, 3-2).
Joe DeMarco, Scott Firman, Nick Weston, Jordan Evans, Nick Mariano, Dom Madonna, Ben Williams, Paulo Ciferri, Cal Paduda, Joe Gillis, Sergio Salcido and Laz Chavez will all be honored as seniors before the game.
With emotions likely to be running high, Binghamton might struggle in this one. The Bearcats are coming off back-to-back conference losses to UMBC and Albany. In those two game, Binghamton scored a combined 10 goals.
SU vs. Bing gets underway at 2. Join Countdown to Faceoff at 1:30 on 88.3 FM, WAER.
Syracuse on the other hand continues to ride its hot streak of eight straight wins. The latest came in an incredible comeback against North Carolina down in Chapel Hill. The Orange trailed 10-5 with five minutes to play in the third quarter, but roared back to win 12-11 in overtime.
Salcido stepped out of his usual set up role to lead Syracuse with three goals against the Tar Heels. Redshirt freshman Stephen Rehfuss came off the bench to deliver a crucial performance as well, with a pair of goals and a pair of assists. He scored or assisted on three straight to bring the Orange with in one in the final quarter.
That win kept Syracuse atop the polls heading into this final regular season matchup.
Despite the two teams seeming to be headed in opposite directions, this should be a close run affair. Binghamton boasts the seventh-ranked scoring defense in the country, allowing fewer than eight goals per game. Expect a closer game than the 13-5 drubbing Syracuse handed the Bearcats a year ago.
A win would give the Orange its best regular season finish since 2011. With the regular season wrapped up, the focus will then shift to the ACC tournament, which starts April 28.