When the final whistle sounded during Syracuse’s victory over Maryland last Saturday, the entire Orange team poured onto the field to swarm SU goaltender Alyssa Costantino.

The excitement and energy had been building on the sidelines throughout the course of the game, just as it has all season for the Orange.

‘We all kind of fed off the energy from our sideline,’ Syracuse volunteer assistant coach Brett Queener said following the Orange’s 10-9 win. ‘Everyone played well, but I think the energy from our sideline is what took us over the edge.’

Now, No. 4 SU hopes to carry that energy over to Tuesday and avoid a letdown when the team takes on Towson in the Carrier Dome at 4 p.m. The Tigers (4-1, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association) will be the first unranked team Syracuse (3-2, 0-0 Big East) faces this season. The Orange has battled five top-12 teams already this season.

Syracuse’s motto this season is ‘big energy’ and maintaining the level of excitement that was visible on the bench Saturday is one of this team’s goals for the season.

So far, SU has accomplished that.

‘We’ve had this energy all year,’ Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. ‘That’s been one of our focuses this year is to bring more energy and I think you saw throughout the entire game (on Saturday).

‘Our bench was up cheering and I think that’s something that we’re focused on and I think it helps our team to know that even players who aren’t on the field have our back.’

Coming off the Orange’s after first win over the then-No. 3 Terrapins in 12 tries, SU will need that same level of intensity to remain focused against a weaker opponent. With the win over Maryland, this Syracuse team became the first in program history to defeat two top-five teams in a season.

The Orange defeated then-No. 4 Florida in Gainesville, Fla., on March 3.

Towson enters Tuesday’s contest with a 4-1 record, and upset No. 13 Loyola in Baltimore for its best win of the season in early March.

Still, SU isn’t worried about any letdown going up against an unranked team.

‘(We cannot) look at the rankings,’ Costantino said. ‘We just play Towson like we played Maryland, Northwestern and Florida, just play them like they’re a top-three team and play our best, not down to anyone’s level.’

In fact, the SU players expect the win Saturday to have the exact opposite effect to sparking a letdown.

With three days in between Syracuse’s win over Maryland and its meeting with the Tigers, SU attack Michelle Tumolo said the team will use practice to keep its energy up and refocus for another game.

‘We go hard tomorrow,’ Tumolo said. ‘Tomorrow is another day, so we enjoy the win now and go hard tomorrow.’

Queener believes the team will remain focused with its simple goal of winning in mind.

The assistant coach enjoyed a successful career winning championships at Herkimer County Community College and later with the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse. And with those playing experiences, Queener said winning was like an addiction.

Now coaching on the sidelines, Queener sees that same drive to win over and over again in his players. And if they bring the same energy and intensity they did against Maryland last Saturday, they should be in good position to get another win.

‘When you make a win like this (over the Terrapins) you want to remember how it feels because you want to get that feeling again and it’s almost addictive,’ Queener said. ‘If we can learn what we need to work during the week, we’ll get that feeling again against Towson.’

dbwilson@syr.edu