When you are Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala, every game on the schedule warrants a certain level of attention and preparation, because every opponent is eager to knock off a program that has captured nine NCAA championships.
But when the next game involves tangling with the top-ranked team in the country -- in this case Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Saturday -- that preparation especially includes a healthy amount of excitement and enthusiasm.
"Every game is an important game. So we prepare for all of them the same," Pietramala said Wednesday morning. "That said, when you're playing the No. 1 team in the country, these are smart kids. They know, they listen, they watch. They know that Syracuse is a great rivalry, that they're a very talented group, and that they're ranked No. 1 right now.
"So does it add a little extra excitement? Sure. Does the level of intensity get picked up a little bit from the players? It certainly does. But it doesn't from the coaches because the coaches have the same approach week in and week out. But for a player and a young guy, to know that you have the opportunity to go up to the Carrier Dome and play the No. 1 team in the country right now, that adds a little excitement to the game."
Saturday's game also pits two of the most successful programs in Division I as the Orange (5-0) have claimed 10 national titles, ne more than the No. 16 Blue Jays (3-3). Fans of both teams like to point to the number of championship banners, and that adds some spice to a rivalry that is tied for the seventh-longest series in Johns Hopkins history.
"When you play a quality opponent whom you've competed with and against for national championships in the past, you build a rivalry quickly," Pietramala said. "And add to that the level of success Syracuse has had and the fact that they're from the North and we're from the South, and there are a lot of reasons why it's a great game. It's got pageantry, it's two teams that care a great deal about lacrosse. So when you add all of that up, it equals a pretty big rivalry.
"But in terms of rivalries here, I think if you talked to different decades, they might have a different answer on which is their biggest rivalry. When I was here, it was Syracuse. In the 90s, it might have been Princeton. In the earlier 70s, it was probably Maryland. If you talk to different eras, you may get a different answer on what the biggest rivalry was. But the bottom line is that Syracuse has been a mainstay of our rivalries for quite some time."