After squeaking by the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils 15-14 last weekend, the No. 10 Syracuse Orange (4-3, 2-0) will try and maintain their spotless conference record when they host the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2, 1-0) this Saturday at 5pm in the Carrier Dome.
The Orange has struggled of late, dropping two straight against No. 15 Johns Hopkins and No. 16 Rutgers, but its victory over Duke not only gives this team some much-needed momentum but also keeps them perfect in the ACC. Senior midfielder Brendan Bomberry, the team's leading scorer, netted four in the conference victory, giving him 13 goals on the season.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish have enjoyed a very nice start to their 2018 season, only losing two games by a combined three goals. They took down Ohio State 9-8 last weekend. Notre Dame's star junior attackman Ryder Garnsey tallied two goals, while attackman Mikey Wynne and midfielder Brendan Gleason added two of their own.
In last year's contest between these two teams, Syracuse defeated then-No. 1 Notre Dame 11-10 at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish last paid a visit to the Carrier Dome in 2016, when they cruised by the Orange 17-7.
Syracuse vs Notre Dame gets underway at 5pm. Countdown to Faceoff starts at 4:30, only on 88.3 FM, WAER.
Syracuse enters this game with a top-25 scoring offense in the country, averaging just over 11 goals per game. On the flip side, Notre Dame's defense ranks 21st in the nation, allowing only nine goals per contest so far this season. The Orange will need to find their offensive rhythm early and must spread the field, with assets like Bomberry and sophomore Jaime Trimboli in the midfield and junior Nate Solomon manning Syracuse's attack.
The Fighting Irish turn the ball over 14 times a game, giving Syracuse's defense a great opportunity to create chances and allow their offense to get out on fast breaks.
This game marks the last of Syracuse's 7-game stretch against a ranked opponent. Syracuse can improve to 3-0 in the ACC and 5-3 overall with a win on Saturday.
Should the Orange take down the Fighting Irish, they will have punched their ticket to the ACC Tournament. This game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on 88.3 FM, WAER.