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SYRACUSE — Way up at the top of the Carrier Dome, a stream of national title banners serves as a reminder of the rich lacrosse tradition here. After long, cold winters in Central New York, the Syracuse Orange would win game after game, and a new banner would eventually rise.
But it’s been a while: A program with a record 22 straight Final Four appearances from 1983 to 2004 and 10 national titles hasn’t claimed the championship in a decade.
Syracuse is not alone. The last Orange championship in 2009 marked the end of an era for the Big Five powers of men’s college lacrosse: from 1978 until then, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, North Carolina and Virginia won every N.