SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange men’s lacrosse team will face MAAC champion Canisius in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised live on ESPNU. Syracuse is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA playoffs and was rewarded for a 12-2 regular season with the No. 3 seed in this year’s 16-team field.

Tickets for SU’s first-round playoff tilt will go on sale Monday, May 5, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Carrier Dome Box Office and online at SUathletics.com. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students (with valid ID) and youth 12 and under. Season parking permits will be honored. Otherwise, parking will be $10 the day of the game. For more information on tickets, please call 1-888-DOMETIX.

The game will mark the first-ever meeting between the Orange and the Golden Griffins.

Canisius won a school-record 10 games and defeated VMI,14-5, Sunday to win the MAAC title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Griffins are making their first postseason appearance.

This is the sixth time Syracuse has been seeded third in the postseason. The Orange owns a 9-3 record all-time when serving as the No. 3 seed, including winning the 1993 and 1995 national championships. The last time Syracuse was the third seed was in 1997 when it advanced to the national semifinals.

The winner of the Syracuse-Canisius game will meet the winner of Notre Dame and Colgate. The Fighting Irish earned the sixth seed in this year’s tournament after winning the Great Western Lacrosse League. They are 13-2. The Raiders received the Patriot League’s automatic bid. They are 11-5 and defeated the Orange on May 3 to close out the regular season

Syracuse is 53-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Its .746 tournament winning percentage is the best in NCAA history and its 53 tournament victories is second all-time behind Johns Hopkins (57). The Orange has 27 previous NCAA invitations to its credit, including 24 straight from 1983-2006. SU advanced to the national semifinals 22 consecutive years from 1983-2004 and has 14 title-game appearances and nine NCAA Championships (1983, 1988-90, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004).

Head coach John Desko has directed the Orange to three NCAA titles (2000, 2002, 2004). His Orange squads are 19-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and Desko owns the highest tournament winning percentage (.792) in NCAA history.

NCAA First Round Matchups:

Loyola vs. (1)Duke, Sat., May 10, 2:30 p.m.
Ohio State vs. (8)Cornell, Sat., May 10, 5:00 p.m.
Navy vs. (4)N. Carolina, Sat., May 10, 7:30 p.m.
Hofstra vs. (5)Johns Hopkins, Sun., May 11, 2:30 p.m.
Canisius vs. (3)Syracuse, Sun., May 11, 7:30 p.m.
Colgate vs. (6)Notre Dame, Sun., May 11, noon
Denver vs. (7)Maryland, Sat., May 11, noon
UMBC vs. (2)Virginia, Sun, May 11, 5:00 p.m.
(Courtesy: SU athletics and Laxpower.com)