The third-ranked Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team (6-1, 0-1 ACC) will head to upstate New York this weekend to face the Syracuse Orange (6-4, 0-2 ACC).
The Irish won their first six games of the season and were ranked first in the country before last week’s home defeat to Virginia by a score of 15-10. With the win, the Cavaliers jumped the Irish in the rankings to number one. Maryland also jumped the Irish in the rankings, even though the Irish beat the Terrapins earlier this season.
In last week’s loss to Virginia, the Irish were outmatched in nearly all aspects of the game. The Cavaliers dominated on faceoffs, winning 17-of-29 from the drop. The Cavaliers also generated more shots and gathered more ground balls en route to their comfortable victory at Arlotta Stadium.
The Irish will look to improve these aspects of their game against a Syracuse team that has been competitive this season, despite having four losses. Three of Syracuse’s losses this season were by three goals or less against Duke, Maryland and Johns Hopkins. All three of these teams are ranked in the top-10 in the country by Inside Lacrosse as well.
The Orange’s worst loss of the season came against No. 12 North Carolina with the Tar Heels beating Syracuse handedly by a score of 19-13.
The Orange have played well as of late, winning their last three games against Hofstra, St. Bonaventure, and Hobart.
The toughest task for the Irish on Saturday might be containing Orange freshman attack Joey Spallina, who has had a fantastic rookie season. Spallina leads the Orange with 46 points (27 goals and 19 assists). At times, Spallina has proved to be nearly unstoppable. In Orange wins against Hofstra and Holy Cross, Spallina recorded seven points in each game, which is the highest mark in a single game by an Orange player this season.
The Irish have dominated the Orange as of late, winning the last five games between the two teams. In the last four matchups between the teams, the Irish have won in dominating fashion, winning each game by at least seven goals. In last year’s matchups, the Irish beat Syracuse 22-6 at Arlotta Stadium and 18-11 at the JMA Wireless Dome.
A memorable moment from last year’s home victory against Syracuse was Irish senior attack Jake Taylor scoring eight goals to set a program record for goals in a game in his first career start. In last year’s victory on the road, it was senior attack Pat Kavanagh that shined for the Irish, as he recorded ten points on the day to tie his own program record for points in a game.
The last Irish loss to the Orange came on March 31, 2018 when the Orange beat the Irish 10-6 in Syracuse.
If the Irish are going to keep their winning streak alive on Saturday, they will look to improve on the faceoff. Although the Irish have won just 44.1% of their faceoffs this season, the Orange have only won 42.0%. Whoever can get into a groove at the faceoff spot will likely have the upperhand on Saturday.
The Irish and Orange both have great goalkeepers as well. Irish senior Liam Entenmann has been spectacular for the Irish, saving 56.7% of the shots, but Will Mark has been even better for the Orange, saving 60.6% of the shots he’s faced.
Saturday’s game at the JMA Wireless Dome will begin at 2 p.m. EST and can be viewed on the ACC Network.
