A week after trouncing Colgate in its regular-season finale, No. 8-seed Syracuse hosts Cornell in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night inside the Carrier Dome. The Orange fell to Cornell, 13-8, on the road earlier this season, part of SU’s skid where it lost three of four.

The Big Red, on the other hand, enter the matchup fresh off an Ivy League championship after a 14-8 win over Yale. Cornell’s second-ranked offense averages nearly three more goals per game and surrenders nearly two goals less per game than SU.

Here are three storylines to watch out for heading into Sunday’s matchup.

Under fire

Syracuse’s tallest task come Sunday will be stopping the high-powered Cornell offense that ranks second in the country, just 0.2 goals per game behind Albany. Three players on the Big Red have scored 35-plus goals and its fourth-leading scorer, Jake Mcculloch, has just one less goal than SU’s top scorer, Brendan Bomberry.

Cornell’s offense starts with its leader Jeff Teat, who sits just four points away from 100 for the season. He is CU’s most dangerous threat and can beat opposing defenses in multiple ways — he ranks first in both goals (37) and assists (59) on the Big Red. He will draw No. 1 defender Nick Mellen for the second time this season. In the previous matchup, Teat scored a pair of goals and added four assists in Cornell’s win.

It doesn’t stop there for Cornell. In its win, six different Big Red players scored two goals. The offense is balanced and its first-line midfield is as dangerous as it gets in college lacrosse.

“They’re all capable dodgers,” SU head coach John Desko said. “You could almost pick your poison as far as who you want to put your long stick on.”

Cornell is an offensive machine, one that Syracuse has seen and been unable to stop before. And on Sunday, that Big Red offense could spell the end of the season for the Orange.

Xtra, Xtra

One of Syracuse’s biggest struggles all season long has been its inability to dominate possession, starting with its performance at the faceoff X. Danny Varello has been inconsistent all season long, resulting in Desko having to resort to his backups often.

In a 12-goal blowout win over Colgate, Varello was just 5-for-14. He lost the last faceoff in what became the game-winner for Navy with 0.2 seconds left and had it not been for Nick Martin’s perfect 5-for-5 performance against Duke, SU would’ve likely lost its first ACC regular season matchup in years.

In SU and Cornell’s last matchup, the Big Red won the faceoff battle by one, 13-12. Cornell’s Paul Rasimowicz took all the faceoffs for the Big Red against SU, while Desko went to three different players.

Both teams rank in the 40s in faceoff winning percentage in the country — SU ranks 43, Cornell 49 — and it will be a big deciding factor come tournament time. Varello’s inconsistency has hurt SU in the past. It’s just a question of if that’ll ring true Sunday.

Long standing history

Cornell and Syracuse will meet for the 104th time on Sunday, the fourth-longest running series in college lacrosse. The two upstate New York rivals have played since 1920, and SU owns a 65-37-1 career record over the Big Red.

The two have met in the NCAA title game twice before, with SU downing Cornell both times. Its most recent win was a one-goal overtime victory in 2009, the Orange’s last championship to date.

Come Sunday, the two teams will face off for a chance to keep its tournament hopes alive in what has been one of the longest rivalries in lacrosse.

Published on May 12, 2018 at 11:21 pm

Contact Charlie: csdistur@syr.edu | @charliedisturco