Ted Cribley knew there was a chance Syracuse would qualify for the NCAA tournament, but he said he really didn’t think it was likely.

The Syracuse players anxiously waited as 27 teams were selected.

“We were looking at each other like, ‘What the hell is going on?’” SU forward Louis Clark said. “We feared the worst.”

Then, Syracuse finally popped up on the screen for a matchup against Cornell. The Orange’s berth in the NCAA tournament marks the second appearance in program history and the first since 1984. Syracuse (12-6) will square off against the Ivy League champion Big Red (15-1) in the first round on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Berman Field in Ithaca, N.Y. A win would propel SU to a second-round matchup against No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday, Nov. 18 in Richmond, Va.

Cribley said the room blew up after the team came up on the screen. The players screamed and celebrated. But Clark just sat there in complete shock, glued to his seat and shaking his head.

“I wasn’t even looking,” Clark said. “I was just so stunned. Oh my God, I was so happy. It was one of the best moments ever.”

Head coach Ian McIntyre is thrilled that his team will have an opportunity to keep playing after all the hard work the players have put in to this point. After what he called a long week, McIntyre said his team was both ecstatic and relieved that it was on the right side of the bubble on Monday night.

“I think over the whole season they’ve been magnificent,” McIntyre said. “To give them an opportunity to keep playing is just fantastic. There was that jubilation from the guys. The room exploded and then there was a big sigh of relief.”

Despite the immediate buzz and the long-term implications of the season-validating news, Clark knows Syracuse has a tough task ahead against Ivy League powerhouse Cornell.

“I think they’re the favorite going into the game,” Clark said. “We’re fine with that. We’re more than happy for them to think that.”

Syracuse is accustomed to being the underdog at this point. The Orange was picked 14th in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll. Wins against Rutgers, South Florida and Villanova helped establish SU as a team to be reckoned with in the Big East.

After bursting out to a 2-0 lead over Notre Dame, the top-seeded team in the NCAA tournament, Cribley said the Orange feels prepared to face Cornell.

“They’ll pose different challenges than Notre Dame did,” Cribley said. “But we’ll be able to adapt to that. We’ve played teams like that this year and have come out on top.”

Cornell leads the overall series 34-25-7, yet Syracuse has won seven of its last nine meetings against the Big Red. Those stats are out the window come Thursday night, though, as this year’s teams are the strongest both schools have had in decades.

Cribley remembers two years ago when McIntyre was recruiting him. The optimistic coach said Cribley could be part of the team that turned around SU soccer for years to come. He told the up-and-coming star he could help lead the team to the NCAA tournament.

The midfielder was excited by the possibility, but he believed obtaining a tournament bid during his two years at SU was a long shot.

“I figured it might happen years down the line after some rebuilding, but I didn’t expect it in the second year,” Cribley said. “I don’t think any of the boys did.

“Even so, we’ve played this year as if we could make it, and I think it’s reflective of our ability and the hard work we’ve put in. It’s been a great year for us.”

Published on November 15, 2012 at 2:54 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass