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Syracuse lost its first game of the season, 15-12, to No. 9 Maryland on Saturday, despite outscoring the Terrapins in the second half. Nine different SU players scored, with Jackson Birtwhistle’s hat trick leading the way, continuing the trend of a diverse scoring attack that head coach Gary Gait has reinforced early in the season. The Orange had mostly cruised to a 3-0 start, catapulting them into the top 20 after going just 4-10 last season and not earning a preseason ranking. 

Next up for Syracuse is the first contest of a three-game homestand against No. 12 North Carolina, which jumped seven spots in the national rankings after beating Johns Hopkins and losing to Ohio State last week. The Tar Heels are the second of nine games the Orange currently have scheduled against top 20 teams this season. 

Here’s everything to know about UNC (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) before its visit to Syracuse on Saturday afternoon:

All-time series

Syracuse leads, 18-11. 

Last time they played

SU traveled to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the midst of its six-game losing streak to end last season, and fell 14-13 in a tight affair. The then-15th-ranked Tar Heels jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind two goals each from Dewey Egan and Chris Gray. Syracuse bounced back with a four-goal second quarter, and only trailed by one goal at halftime. 

The Orange then rattled off four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter — two coming on man-up situations — and took a 13-12 lead with 2:16 remaining when Brendan Curry found the back of the net on an unanswered goal. But that lead disappeared roughly a minute later, when Jacob Kelly connected with Lance Tillman for a game-tying score. With 15 seconds remaining, Gray notched his fifth goal of the game to give UNC a one-score win and SU a deflating road loss. 

The defeat secured Syracuse’s first season without a postseason berth in 15 years, since the Orange were officially unable to reach the necessary .500 winning percentage mark needed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. In any case, SU still lost its next two games, amassing the most single-season losses in program history.  

The Tar Heels report

North Carolina opened its season with a 25-3 clobbering of Mercer, and then beat Johns Hopkins by four. The Tar Heels lost to then-No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday, scoring just five goals — and only one in the second half — in a three-score loss. UNC is the third-highest ranked team in the ACC, trailing No. 1 Virginia. 

The Tar Heels lost Gray, who led them in goals for two straight seasons, to graduation. Through three games, graduate student Logan McGovern has led them in goals (six) and points (10), led largely by his four-goal, two-assist performance in the win over Mercer. Sean Goldsmith, Antonio DeMarco and Egan have also added four goals. 

Junior Collin Krieg has started all three games in goal for UNC, recording 37 saves and allowing 18 goals. His .679 save percentage ranks first among ACC goalies, as does his 6.55 goals against average. Krieg has helped North Carolina hold all three of its opponents to eight goals or fewer. 

How Syracuse beats North Carolina

Syracuse — specifically face-off specialist Johnny Richiusa — was dominated in the face-off circle against Maryland, diminishing the number of offensive opportunities SU could get in a high-scoring game. The Orange won just 7-of-31 faceoffs — and only 1-of-7 in the fourth quarter — against the Terrapins, something that will have to change on Saturday. Without enough faceoff wins, Syracuse got outshot by 21, forcing goalie Will Mark to make double the saves of his counterpart, Teddy Dolan. 

Mark’s performance of 18-saves and 15 goals allowed was another impressive one, and his fourth straight with at least 13 saves to start the season. If SU continues to lose faceoffs, Mark will need to have a big game in goal to keep the Orange in what will likely be a low-scoring game against UNC. Goals from a variety of places — which Syracuse has gotten in its past three games — will certainly keep the game close, too, as will avoiding the penalty box. The Orange had three more penalties than UMD last weekend, leading to three goals allowed. 

Stat to know: 11.5%

UNC’s 11.5% defensive efficiency ranks first nationally, per Lacrosse Reference, and its six goals allowed per game is second in the nation. While the easy win over Mercer certainly helped all their statistics — offensive and defensive — the Tar Heels’ defense also contained two ranked teams in Johns Hopkins and Ohio State. The performances showcased their defensive abilities that could be tough for young attacks Finn Thomson and Joey Spallina to score against. 

Player to watch: Connor Maher, short stick defensive midfielder, No. 31

Maher was North Carolina’s sole preseason first-team Inside Lacrosse All-American, and has notched three points and five ground balls so far this season as a key part of UNC’s top-ranked defense. Maher was a second-team All-American last season, registering 43 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. He’ll be a key part of containing Syracuse’s attack, and letting Krieg only face easy shots from deep. 

Published on February 22, 2023 at 9:22 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_