Lisa Miller knew the scoreboard was misleading last time the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team played Rutgers.

The Orange beat the Scarlet Knights by nine goals on April 13. Syracuse took a 14-3 lead into halftime and cruised to an easy 21-12 victory. That game, Syracuse benefited from a dominant eight-minute stretch at the end of the first half to open up a blowout. If not for the run, it could have been a completely different result.

Rutgers won the second half, indicating that perhaps the two teams were not separated by as much as the deficit suggested.

Friday’s rematch proved the Orange’s head coach right-Rutgers could play with Syracuse.

Play with Syracuse, not beat Syracuse.

‘It was very similar to our last game with the exception of that eight-minute explosion at the end of the first half,’ Miller said. ‘I think we played well enough to win, and we’re going to move on to the next round.’

Second-seeded Syracuse (11-4, 5-1 Big East) used four goals by senior Ashley Pike and a hat trick by sophomore Katie Rowan to beat No. 17 Rutgers (12-5, 3-3), 13-7, in the semifinals of the inaugural Big East women’s lacrosse tournament Friday in front of 808 fans at the Carrier Dome.

The victory means the No. 7 Orange advances to the championship game against top-seeded No. 9 Georgetown on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Like last game, Syracuse jumped out to a quick start. The Orange scored the first seven goals two weeks ago, the first four goals Friday.

Unlike last game, though, Syracuse could not maintain it for the entire first half. Rutgers responded to Syracuse’s outburst with two goals of its own. Nobody wanted to take control of the game, and the Orange led by just three goals by halftime.

Rutgers managed to hold Syracuse’s high-powered offense to eight first-half goals, a far cry from the 14 it allowed last time.

‘Today compared to our last performance, we really made some tremendous strides’ Rutgers head coach Laura Brand said. ‘ We did some nice things. Syracuse just did more nice things than we did today.’

For most of the first half, Rutgers played top-notch defense against the Orange’s high-powered offensive unit. The Scarlet Knights held Rowan, who matched school records with seven goals and 10 assists last meeting, to one goal during the first 30 minutes Friday.

Syracuse had trouble finding open players near the net, often pulling the ball back outside the arc. Brand said her team relied too much on one-on-one defense during the last game and had to slide its feet better to contain the Orange’s offense.

Miller was impressed with the Scarlet Knights’ adjustments.

‘I think they matched up pretty well with our dodgers,’ Miller said. ‘They’re athletic and they’re quick. I wasn’t underestimating them in any way. I talked to the kids about how if you washed out those eight minutes, it was a pretty close game the last time around.’

Nevertheless, the Orange proved too much for Rutgers. Despite a minor injury late in the first half, Rowan turned it on the second half. The attacker scored two goals and dished an assist to create space between the two teams. Rowan’s four points increases her season total to 69 one day after unanimously being named first-team All-Big East.

Rutgers suffered from an injury of its own. Nina Frankoski, who led the Scarlet Knights with four goals last time the teams met, hurt her ankle early in the first half. Rutgers’ second-leading scorer would not return.

‘That definitely hurt us,’ Brand said. ‘We have other players who can step up and score as well. With Nina out of the game I’m not going to say I don’t think we shouldn’t step up and win, because I do.’

Now Syracuse can turn its attention to Georgetown, the team that has won the Big East every year since the conference began playing women’s lacrosse in 2001. The Orange has never beaten the Hoyas in 10 tries.

It came close this season, though. Syracuse lost, 9-8, in triple overtime on March 10.

Since Georgetown defeated Notre Dame in the other semifinal game, Sunday’s championship round pits the best two teams in the conference. Both teams finished the regular season 4-1 against Big East opponents.

The close game earlier this season only intensified the rivalry between the two programs-and the first-ever Big East tournament is on the line this time.

‘It’s a new game, a new season,’ Pike said. ‘It’s the championship game. Our team looks at this starting tournament as the start of a new season.’

Published on April 27, 2007 at 12:00 pm