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To end its slate of Atlantic Coast Conference games this season, No. 8 Syracuse (6-4, 2-3 ACC) travels to South Bend, Indiana, to play No. 4 Notre Dame (6-3, 2-3) on Saturday. 

SU’s up-and-down season spiraled following its early-season victory over Virginia, and the Orange even fell out of the top-10 for a week. But a second win against Virginia last weekend has Syracuse back in the top-10. 

Meanwhile, a tough road trip to North Carolina to face both Duke and UNC in one week brought the Fighting Irish back down. For a while, after a loss to Virginia, Notre Dame was flying high with huge wins over Syracuse and then Duke. But now UND lies tied record-wise in the ACC with the Orange and finds itself needing a win to potentially challenge for second place in the ACC. 

Here’s what you need to know about the Fighting Irish before Saturday’s 12 p.m. start. 

All-time series

Syracuse leads 10-6

Last time they played

The teams met under a month ago in the Carrier Dome. Coming off a loss to Virginia, Notre Dame struggled to get going early as Syracuse took a 6-2 lead. Eventually though, the Orange’s defense was worn down by the faceoff battle — which UND won 23-9 — and Syracuse’s five missed clears. Notre Dame’s 12-2 run in the middle of the game decided the outcome, with Syracuse managing just three goals in the second half.

Pat Kavanagh took over the contest, putting up four goals and five assists, which was the first time a Notre Dame player earned nine points in a game since his brother, Matt, did the same against the Orange in 2016. Griffin Westlin and Will Yorke both chipped in four goals, too. 

The Notre Dame report

Notre Dame still features the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation even after playing through most of its ACC schedule. The Fighting Irish give up just 8.56 goals a game while scoring 13.78 goals per game. Led by goalie Liam Entenmann, whose .574 save percentage is 15th in the nation and leads the ACC, UND is stingy at the back and has held every ACC opponent it’s played so far to 12 or less goals in regulation. The Fighting Irish don’t slide often, but when they do, they find the right recoveries. Even Duke, with two of the best dodgers in the country in Nakeie Montgomery and Michael Sowers, couldn’t find a way to unclog the passing lanes easily.

Kavanagh is the catalyst for an offense that isn’t as high-powered as the likes of North Carolina and Duke, but is unselfish and filled with great and creative finishers like Yorke. The Fighting Irish convert on freebie opportunities on the man-up better than nearly every other team in Division I lacrosse. They’re second behind Richmond on the man-up, scoring at a 60% rate. In its first meeting against Syracuse, UND scored four times with a man advantage.

How Syracuse beats the Fighting Irish

It comes down to possessions for the Orange. One of Syracuse’s faceoff specialists will need to figure out UND’s Kyle Gallagher if SU wants a chance to win this game. In Syracuse’s two ACC wins this year, it had a combined 19 more possessions than its opponent, while in SU’s three losses, it was outpossessed by 29, per Lacrosse Reference. 

The Orange’s defense, now missing starting close defender Nick DiPietro for the rest of the season, will need Mitch Wykoff to find a way to slow down Kavanagh, which even All-American defender JT Giles-Harris at Duke struggled to do. If Kavanagh can consistently dodge past Wykoff like he did in the first matchup, the Orange defense will likely get picked apart. They’ve struggled when they’ve had to slide all season, and without a leader at the back in DiPietro, that problem is only likely to get worse. 

SU also needs to stay out of the box at all costs. That’s the easiest way for Notre Dame to spark a run. Discipline at all levels, like on the clear and avoiding offensive turnovers, will be key for the Orange to find an upset on Saturday.

Stat to know: 65.5% 

Notre Dame possessed the ball for 65.5% of the two teams’ last contest this season, per Lacrosse Reference. That’s the highest mark of any team against Syracuse this year. Syracuse needs that mark to be lower to win. In the Orange’s four losses this year, the time of possession percentage for opponents has averaged at 59.4%. 

Player to watch: Will Yorke, No. 99, attack

While Kavanagh, rightfully, earns most of the attention on this Notre Dame attack, Yorke has proven himself to be one of the top finishers in the nation and leads the Fighting Irish with 20 goals. Yorke is shooting 51.3%, which is 12th in the nation. He’s one of Kavanagh’s favorite passing targets and scored his final three goals when he came to the Dome earlier in the year off Kavanagh feeds.

Published on April 29, 2021 at 12:09 am

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder