The Syracuse University women's lacrosse team begins its NCAA Tournament journey Friday night as it takes on the Loyola (Maryland) Greyhounds in Annapolis, Md.

Coach Regy Thorpe is trying to lead the women's team to its first national championship in program history. A Syracuse native, Thorpe is hoping to add to the recent success of the program. It's his first year as the head coach after serving as the associate head coach at Florida for four seasons. He previously spent 10 years as an assistant at Syracuse before that.

Thorpe played lacrosse at Jordan Elbridge High School before a stint at Herkimer Community College and eventually Syracuse. As a player, Thorpe helped lead the Syracuse men to a national championship in 1993.

The Syracuse women have played in 16 of the last 18 NCAA Tournaments, making three Final Four appearances. The Orange finished this regular season/ACC Tournament at 13-5 and 7-3 inside league play. 

Loyola enters the tournament with a 12-7 overall record and a 7-2 record in conference play. The Greyhounds have played in 13 of the past 15 NCAA Tournaments with the exceptions being 2017 and the 2020 tournament, which was canceled because the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Face off is set for 7 p.m. ET. 

Here's the information you need to know before Friday night's game:

The 2026 NCAA Tournament will feature a field of 29 schools competing in a single-elimination tournament. Fifteen conference champions qualify automatically, with the rest of the field selected by a selection committee. The top three teams receive first-round byes. 

The first round includes 13 games conducted at campus sites. The winning team from each game will advance to the second round. Each round until the semifinals will be held on campus sites. This year's semifinals and finals will be held at Martin Stadium in Chicago, Ill. on May 22/24. 

Twenty-six of the 29 teams that qualified for this year's tournament will be in action on Friday. Top seeded Northwestern, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Maryland are the three teams who have a bye into the next round. 

The matchup that has the most impact on Syracuse is the sixth-seeded Navy Midshipmen against the University at Massachusetts at 3 p.m. E.T.

The winner of Syracuse and Loyola will face the winner of Navy and UMass in the following round. Faceoff for the second round matchup is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

The game will air locally on Syracuse University's student run radio station Z89 (WJPZ 89.1 FM). ESPN+ will have the coverage for Friday's broadcast on the television side. 

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