The Canisius College men’s lacrosse team will face No. 3 seed Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised live on ESPNU and will be the first nationally televised game in program history.

The Golden Griffins qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history on Sunday afternoon, with a 14-5 victory over the Virginia Military Institute in the MAAC Championship held on the campus of Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y.

The NCAA Tournament game will serve as the first meeting between Canisius and Syracuse. The Orange enters the postseason with a 12-2 record after falling 12-11 to Colgate on Saturday. Syracuse is participating in its 28th NCAA Tournament and has advanced to 24 Final Fours and won nine national championships.

Canisius, who has a school-record 10 victories this season, had four players earn All-Tournament Team honors, led by Most Outstanding Player Chris Courteau. On the weekend, Courteau posted a 2.57 goals against average and .762 save percentage in the team’s two victories.

Senior captain Matt Hajek, senior Michael Ferranti and freshman Adam Jones were also selected to the All-Tournament Team. Hajek won 11-of-18 faceoffs in the championship game to go along with a game-high seven groundballs. Ferranti held MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Kevin Hill to one assist on six shots. Jones led all players with seven goals on the weekend.

At the awards banquet held at the MAAC Championship May 1, Canisius had four players honored by the league. Jones and Nick LoCoco earned all-MAAC First-Team honors, making Canisius the first MAAC school in the last 10 years with a pair of freshmen on the first team. LoCoco was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year, giving Canisius the award for the second consecutive season. Seniors Michael Blocho and Tom Hensel each earned all-MAAC Second-Team honors.