Ongoing Carrier Dome renovations this spring have forced Syracuse women’s lacrosse to do something it’s done only twice in its 22-year history.

Since the Dome is unavailable after March 1, SU’s schedule calls for six consecutive games — over 28 days — away from home. Plus, it’s forced to schedule both alumni weekend and senior night on the same day, Feb. 28, against No. 2 Maryland.

Now, No. 4 Syracuse (1-1) and its 10 returning starters face a program-record 11 regular-season games played outside of the Carrier Dome. While head coach Gary Gait and his players noted the benefits of home-field advantage, the Orange are confident past road-trip experiences have prepared them well.

“Our team generally likes actually traveling,” senior Kerry Defliese said. “That’s when we have our best memories, I think. A lot of things always happen with our group.”

One year, Defliese and the rest of her SU teammates from Long Island — along with Boston-native Grace Fahey — got stuck in an airport on their way to Florida for training camp. The group ended up bussing to Baltimore before flying out of Baltimore/Washington International Airport the rest of the way.

“When we finally got to Florida it was a little journey story,” Defliese said, “like ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles.’”

One of Gait’s most “lovely” trips occurred in 2017 after a 10-9 win over Duke, when SU’s current seniors were freshmen. Their postgame flight was cancelled, so Gait had the team bus from Durham to Baltimore. They then defeated Loyola, 16-11, three days later. Current seniors Emily Hawryschuk and Mary Rahal combined for seven goals in those two games. Asa Goldstock recorded the win in both games, tallying 12 saves.

The next year, the Orange played five-straight road games, going 3-2 before losing six of their final eight games to end the season a program-worst 9-10.

“Your body gets fatigued,” Rahal said. “Your muscles tighten up. You’re sitting on a bus, you’re sitting on a plane, so the travel does get to you sometimes.”

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Still, Rahal said the Orange value every second. Hawryschuk talked about the “little bondings” that happen on every bus trip. Defliese knows that practically wherever the team goes, there’s going to be a Maggiano’s Little Italy dinner — the team’s favorite road restaurant.

All of those experiences have brought SU’s upperclassmen to this point, with 11 of their final 13 games outside of the Carrier Dome — eight of which are against top-20 opponents. SU’s first taste of road action in 2020 is No. 3 Northwestern, the same team that bounced SU from the NCAA Quarterfinals last May.

“That’s going to be a big one,” Defliese said. “That’s where we left off so we’ll go in there guns blazing.”

After their senior day on Feb. 28, the Orange begin their six-game road tilt that takes them through North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Indiana, Maryland and Texas. They’ll travel approximately 8,984 miles in 27 days, with two roundtrip flights during the school week. That’s the equivalent of nearly two flights from Syracuse to Moscow.

“We get a lot of our homework done on the bus and we try to sleep on the bus as much as possible and when we get to the hotel it’s lights out,” Rahal said.

SU’s final “home” game of the year is at Christian Brothers Academy, which Gait called “home away from home.” There, the Orange will host No. 1 North Carolina, who defeated SU 11-5 in Chapel Hill last season. CBA will serve as SU’s home field for the NCAA tournament if necessary.

In total, Syracuse will play four neutral site games, two of which would’ve been home matches in previous years. In one of the four, they’re meeting Massachusetts halfway, in Albany on April 30 for the regular season finale.

After that, it’s back to Chapel Hill for the ACC tournament followed by the NCAA tournament. The thousands of miles covered in the months between will only further prepare an already seasoned SU team, Defliese said. Plus, all eight states they travel to have a Maggiano’s.

Published on February 12, 2020 at 11:47 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu