HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – John Lade said the feeling was indescribable. Rendered speechless momentarily after the game, the sophomore transfer and starting defender was numb with elation as the reality sunk in – he was going to the final four for the first time.

‘I’m so pumped for next weekend,’ Lade said. ‘We are going to be pumped and ready to go. We might have a little target on our back (being defending national champions) but we just have to keep working hard.’ But for Lade’s teammates, the final four is familiar territory. Just last year the Orange (14-2) traveled to Foxborough, Mass., to defeat Virginia in the final four on its way to winning the program’s 10th national title.

The quarterfinals have never been a problem for SU head coach John Desko. Syracuse has never lost a quarterfinal game during his tenure. Saturday was no exception.

For Lade, Villanova never gave him the chance to play a single tournament game, never mind advance to the final four. But this year was different, as he went on to anchor the powerhouse defense that ended up shutting down unseeded Maryland Saturday 11-6 at Shuart Stadium in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Syracuse will face either North Carolina or Duke May 23 in the tournament semifinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Lade, along with fellow defenders Matt Tierney, Sid Smith and back-up goalie Al Cavalieri – who started for regular John Galloway, who was out with the flu – held Maryland to six goals, far below its average 10.3 per game. The Terrapin team that came out victorious in the first round of the tournament against previously-undefeated Notre Dame was not there, Lade said.

Despite a somewhat shaky first half, one where attack Kenny Nims left after a brutal hit, the defense held firm. With Lade marking Terrapin attack Ryan Young and Smith on Travis Reed, the Orange defense put a spoke in the methodical Maryland attack, forcing the team to its second and third options offensively.

‘Defensively we played great,’ Cavalieri said. ‘John’s a great communicator and they talk with him all the time when he’s out there and they didn’t let me down a minute today, they played great the whole game, the communication was great.’

The good only got better after halftime. After Desko refocused his team in the locker room, the game went smoother. Slides were more precise and marking was more aggressive – the Terrapins would only find the cage three more times while the stellar defense allowed for more offensive possessions and a 5-0 swing to start the half.

‘Coach told us to keep working,’ Lade said. ‘Coach did a good job of preparing us all week. We knew what we were up against.’

It was the consistency of his defenders that helped the Orange cement its trip to the final four, Desko said.

Cavalieri agreed, as he continued to praise the defense’s communication. In his first career start, he could hear the defense constantly calling out assignments, switching seamlessly in the midst of a Maryland offense that thrives on movement.

That made the difference, he said.

Regardless of what the difference was, now Syracuse advances. Its run continues. Its chance to be the first team in over a decade to win back-to-back national championships remains.

And for Lade, he won’t let this opportunity slip by. From a team that didn’t make the tournament, to a team on the road to program immortality, Lade said he’ll take this week to continue working with his defenders to get better and stay on the road to the finals.

‘If we keep preparing like we have the past couple weeks it will work out,’ Lade said. ‘Coach is going to keep us busy all week, but it’s all worth it in the end.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on May 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm