No. 12 Syracuse earns 3rd straight NCAA Tournament berth

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse was selected as one of 18 teams to the NCAA Tournament Sunday despite a first-round loss to No. 4 Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The Orange will represent one of eight at-large bids and is slated to play Liberty in the first round Friday at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

SU finished the regular season 10-6 and was firmly on the tournament bubble ahead of the Selection Show. Syracuse was ranked as the 12th-best team in the Week 9 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll and was the “last team in” among potential at-large hopefuls. Conference wins against then-No. 12 Boston College and then-No. 8 Louisville were enough to strengthen the Orange’s postseason hopes.

In qualifying, Syracuse earns an NCAA Tournament berth for the third consecutive year. In the last two seasons, SU has been eliminated by Maryland twice, with both losses coming in the second round. The Orange’s defeat last season was particularly heartbreaking as they fell 3(3)-2(2) in a penalty shootout.

Syracuse and Liberty last met in 2016, where SU won 3-2. The Flames finished the regular season with an impressive 17-2 record, though they were upset on Sunday by Old Dominion in the Big East Tournament final. The winner of the second round matchup will take on the winner of No. 3 Duke and American University in the quarterfinals.