The most intriguing first round matchup is its lone rematch of the 2018 season.

On March 29, Syracuse escaped Princeton 17-16 despite the Tigers’ three-goal advantage in the second half.  

Tigers coach Chris Sailer told the Daily Princetonian that their Syracuse loss was the turning point in their season.

“I personally feel like we won that game,” Sailer said. “At the time, Syracuse had been playing really well, and that half we played was the best half we played all year.”

NO. 9 PRINCETON VS. NO. 18 SYRACUSE
Friday, 4 p.m., at No. 4 seed Boston College

The Ivy League champion, which boasts a 12-5 record compared to the Orange’s average 9-9 mark, has comeback potential.

Princeton has had just two other one-goal games – a 13-12 win over Penn State and an 11-10 loss to Maryland. Despite struggling against the NCAA’s top-seeded Terps in the second half, Princeton trailed by three at the break against the Nittany Lions, then matched their first-half goals (8) and held them to just four more scores. 

Friday’s game marks just the third meeting between the two programs after facing each other for the first time last year, when the Tigers prevailed 16-11.

The Orange are still itching for their first NCAA championship crown, falling short of the title in their only two appearances in 2012 and 2014. The common storyline of whether Syracuse can break through continues, but coach Gary Gait thinks the experience is there.

"We've had a tough year but we have a great opportunity to get to play Princeton in the first round," Gait told Syracuse.com. "We faced Princeton earlier this year and we've faced a ton of teams that are in the tournament, so we have that kind of playoff experience already."

Meanwhile, the Tigers have won three national titles in 1994, 2002 and 2003 under Sailer, while making appearances in 1993, 1995, 2000 and 2004. Plus, this year, the Tigers enter the tournament riding a six-game winning streak, while the Orange are coming off a 21-12 rout at the hands of ACC champion North Carolina.

By The Numbers

Scoring Offense:
No. 18 Princeton (15.06), No. 19 Syracuse (14.67)

Scoring Defense:
No. 35 Princeton (10.82), No. 91 Syracuse (13.89)

Save Percentage:
No. 20 Princeton (0.482), No. 60 Syracuse (0.433)

Draw Controls:
No. 37 Princeton (14.00), No. 54 Syracuse (13.11)

Fouls Per Game:
No. 45 Princeton (19.59), No. 101 Syracuse (25.67)

Breakdown: Statistically speaking, Princeton could have the edge. Freshman Kyla Sears leads the Tigers’ offense with 78 points and freshman Marge Donovan commands the draw with 64 controlled. Freshman Sam Fish likely will start in net with a .506 save percentage. Syracuse is led by sophomore Emily Hawryschuk’s 61 points, senior Neena Merola’s 50 draw controls and sophomore Asa Goldstock’s .433 save percentage.

Playmaker

The Tigers may be young, but they have grown immensely since their season opener. Senior keeper Mary Kate McDonough started at the beginning of the year, but Fish rightly earned her spot, starting 10 games. “We solidified our goalkeeping position with freshman Sam Fish earning the nod and she has performed very well in the cage,” Sailer told the Trentonian.

Game Changer

In their earlier matchup, Princeton tied Syracuse 11-11 with 16:38 to play, then scored the go-ahead goal two minutes later. But that was the Tigers’ last lead. The game saw two more ties over the next three and a half minutes, but it came down to possessions and clean play. Princeton was down one with three minutes remaining, but in that time, Syracuse won the draw, finishing with a slight 18-16 edge, and the Tigers fouled six times.

Battle Royale

No. 16 High Point vs. No. 20 Denver
Friday, 4 p.m., at No. 1 seed Maryland

High Point is having one of its best seasons with just two losses on the year – only by four to second-seed North Carolina and by two to third-seeded James Madison – earning its fourth NCAA tournament appearance. Last year, the Panthers upset Towson in the first round for its first-ever tournament win. Denver meets High Point for the third time, winning both previous meetings, the last in 2014, but the Panthers can make a strong case for another tournament win. High Point has the second-best scoring defense and fifth-best scoring offense in Division I.

No. 13 Penn vs. No. 17 Penn State
Friday, 5 p.m., at No. 5 seed Stony Brook

The in-state rivals join the Syracuse-Princeton quarter of the bracket, which is perhaps the toughest of the four. While they are close to each other, this game is only the second between the two programs in the last decade. Penn is fueled by its loss to Princeton in the Ivy League final, while the Nittany Lions are 1-5 in their last six games. But that one win for Penn State was a big 21-16 upset over Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament. Which team will prevail? Penn State boasts the No. 14 scoring offense, while Penn is ranked 23rd. The winner will then square off with undefeated Stony Brook on Sunday. 

No. 10 Navy vs. No. 19 Johns Hopkins
Friday, 7 p.m., at No. 8 seed Loyola

Navy and Johns Hopkins are just 35 miles apart, but Friday’s game is the first time the two programs have met. The Patriot League champion is likely feeling another Cinderella run to the final four, while the Blue Jays, which are still riding its 14-11 win over Loyola from February, are looking for a breakthrough. The Midshipmen’s No. 3 scoring offense, led by two 100-point scorers in Kelly Larkin and Kenna Collins, and No. 3 draw controls per game, with a team-high 91 from Jenna Collins, will be tough to defeat.

Upset Potential

No. 15 Virginia Tech vs. Georgetown
Friday, 3 p.m., at No. 2 seed North Carolina

Denver upset the Hoyas in the Big East tournament without one of Georgetown's key players Francesca Whitehurst, but they still earned their first NCAA bid since 2014. Virginia Tech is making its first NCAA appearance and is hoping to continue proving that its program has been turned around. Both the Hoyas’ and Hokies’ are matched fairly evenly, with the No. 45 and 47 scoring offenses, No. 64 and No. 37 scoring defenses, and No. 56 and No. 53 draw controls per game, respectively.

No. 14 Colorado vs. Jacksonville
Friday, 4 p.m., at No. 6 seed Florida

The Buffs are 13-5, aiming to rebound from its Pac-12 championship loss to Stanford in its second NCAA tournament appearance, and the Dolphins are 16-3, repeating as Atlantic Sun champions. Jacksonville is 1-0 all-time against Colorado, dominating the Buffs 20-13 in 2014, and sit in the top five nationally in scoring offense (No. 1), assists per game (No. 2), caused turnovers per game (No. 2), points per game (No. 2) and draw controls per game (No. 5).

No. 11 Stanford vs. Virginia
Friday, 6 p.m., at No. 3 seed James Madison

Virginia may not be ranked in the final edition of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, but it is eager for redemption, according to the Daily Progress. The Cavaliers can compete, yet didn’t finish against the top four seeded teams (Maryland, North Carolina, James Madison and North Carolina). Meanwhile, with its Top 10 scoring defense and 11th-ranked scoring offense, Stanford is hoping to continue to shine after winning the first-ever Pac-12 crown. Friday’s game marks the first between the two teams.

Rounding Out the First Round

Top 20 teams Northwestern, Towson and Loyola are the favorites to win their respective first-round games, but their opponents are all conference champions looking to survive and advance.  

No. 8 Towson vs. Wagner
Friday, 3 p.m., at No. 7 seed Towson

Wagner upset Bryant 12-11 in double overtime for the NEC title and then went on to defeat SoCon champion Mercer 13-9 in the NCAA tournament’s play-in game.

No. 12 Loyola vs. Fairfield
Friday, 4 p.m., at No. 8 seed Loyola

With the top two seeds knocked out of the MAAC tournament, No. 3 seed Fairfield defeated No. 4 seed Canisius 14-10 to go dancing.

No. 7 Northwestern vs. Richmond
Friday, 6 p.m., at No. 7 seed Towson

Richmond upset UMass 12-11 in overtime to earn the Atlantic-10 crown and NCAA automatic bid.