Beating Le Moyne tomorrow in the NCAA Division II lacrosse semifinals will be as difficult for Bryant as hitting a Tim Wakefield knuckleball, sinking a 65-foot putt or making a three-point shot over Kevin Garnett.

Let us list the reasons.

Le Moyne, the other lacrosse power in Syracuse, is the two-time defending national champion. Bryant is the one-time Northeast-10 Conference champion.

Le Moyne is playing in its seventh consecutive NCAA tournament. Bryant is playing in its first.

Le Moyne is ranked No. 1 in the nation. Bryant is ranked No. 2, its highest ranking ever.

Le Moyne is 14-1. Bryant is 14-3, a school record for victories.

Le Moyne has won eight of the last nine NE-10 regular-season titles. Bryant has won one.

Le Moyne boasts the NE-10's player of the year in attack Mike McDonald, defensive player of the year in Drew Bezek and coach of the year in Dan Sheehan. Bryant boasts the NE-10 freshman of the year in Gary Crowley.

Le Moyne has defeated Bryant 14 times since their first meeting in 2000. Bryant has defeated Le Moyne twice.

Get the picture? Le Moyne is good, and has been good for a long time. Bryant is good, but has been good for a just a brief time.

"Le Moyne is a Division I program," Bryant coach Mike Pressler said after learning that his Bulldogs had been selected for the NCAA Tournament and would meet Le Moyne in the semifinals. He meant, of course, a Division I-quality program in a Division II uniform. Le Moyne's administration has expressed no intention of moving up to Division I.

The Bulldogs will be underdogs for the 1 o'clock showdown at the Thomas J. Niland Complex in Syracuse, but they won't be intimidated. A review of recent history should have boosted their confidence.

Two weeks ago, Bryant rallied from a 4-2 deficit with three goals in the fourth quarter and stunned the Dolphins on their home field, 5-4, for the NE-10 Tournament championship. The upset snapped Le Moyne's 25-game winning streak. Matt McKeefrey scored three goals and Crowley two, and Michael Kennedy made nine saves. Kennedy was the tournament's outstanding player.

The Dolphins had won the regular-season meeting, 8-3.

In the 2007 season, Bryant upset Le Moyne, 10-9, in overtime in Smithfield, the first big win for Pressler as Bryant's coach. The Bulldogs finished first in the regular season, but the Dolphins spoiled the end of Pressler's debut campaign with a 5-4 triumph in the NE-10 Tournament final.

The Bulldogs will have to get strong performances from some of their top five scorers and another stalwart outing from Kennedy in goal. Kevin Hoagland (43 goals, 14 assists, 57 points) and Bryan Kaufmann (35-22-57) share the team's scoring lead. Crowley (22-11-33) is third on the goals list, with McKeefrey (19-22-41) and Jim Long (19-12-31) tied for fourth.

Kennedy has a .598 save percentage and a 6.35 goals-against average.

The winner of this game will advance to the national championship game May 25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Limestone (14-1) and New York Institute of Technology (11-1) are playing in the other semifinal tomorrow at NYIT in Utica.

Bryant is 25-7 under Pressler, the former Duke coach, and is nearing the end of its history as a Division II program. Bryant will move up to Division I in the fall as a member of the Northeast Conference.

The Bulldogs won't have to wait the normal four years to compete for another championship. The Northeast Conference (NEC) announced Thursday that it is adding lacrosse to its lineup and will begin play in 2010-2011. Bryant is taking advantage of the NCAA's Fast Track Reclassification for lacrosse and will be eligible for the championship in the NEC's inaugural lacrosse season.

Five NEC members already play lacrosse in other leagues: Mount St. Mary's and Wagner in the MAAC, Quinnipiac in the GWLL, and Robert Morris and Sacred Heart in the CAA. Bryant's joining the NEC enabled the conference to form its own league.

The NEC has sponsored women's lacrosse since 1998. The addition of men's lacrosse will give the conference 22 sports.

But today is hardly the day for Bryant to dream about NEC lax. Le Moyne awaits.