Post by Steve Infanti - Players and coaches will tell you that there's no such thing as a good loss -- especially a loss right before the playoffs. But one could argue both the Le Moyne and Syracuse men's lacrosse teams could actually benefit from being upset over the weekend.
 
First, for Syracuse.  The Orange dropped a seed by losing to Colgate on Saturday.  Instead of earning the #2 overall seed, SU has to settle for being the #3 seed.  In reality, their road to the Final Four appears to be easier than Virginia's road as the #2.  If form holds, Syracuse would face Notre Dame in the second round instead of Maryland.  Both are good teams, but Maryland clearly is a more dangerous program come tournament time.  The Terps have reached the Final Four in three of the last five years.  Not to mention the fact that they have already beaten the likes of Virginia  and North Carolina this year.  Notre Dame, on the other hand, is 4-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.  I like SU's chances in that bracket.
 
Le Moyne's situation is less about the opponent and more about the Dolphins.  Had Le Moyne rallied to win Sunday's NE-10 title game over Bryant, there was a chance (albeit a slight chance) that the Dolphins would have headed into the Division-II semifinals overconfident.  Now, there is absolutely no possibility of that happening.  This loss to Bryant forces the Dolphins to re-focus and prepare harder than ever for the tournament.  It just so happens that they will get to play Bryant in the semis, which again, is a good thing.  The revenge factor, the home field, the rebounding from a loss -- it all plays into Le Moyne's favor.
 
So, you see, while a loss may not be a good thing, in some cases it may not be a bad thing either.  We'll find out for sure if I'm right in another couple of weeks.