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Syracuse Meets Virginia To Kick Off ACC Play

Cuse.com

The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team dropped to No. 10 in the country after falling to Army on a last second goal last weekend. This week marks the first top-10 matchup of the 2017 season for the Orange when it takes on No. 9 Virginia on Sunday.

Maryland and Denver are tied atop the standings once again this week Johns Hopkins and Notre Dame just trailing them. Penn State clocks in at No. 5 to round-out the top five.

Including Johns Hopkins, most of Syracuse’s other opponents are all in the top 20 schools in the country: Notre Dame (4), Virginia (9), North Carolina (7) and Duke (20). The Orange has already beat a top 20 school as well in No. 15 Albany.

SU vs. UVA at noon. Countdown to Faceoff starts at 11:30

As for Virginia and Syracuse, the programs will meet for the 33rd time in program history, with both teams having won 16 matchups.  

The Orange has given up only 29 goals in three games this season. Syracuse is undefeated in program history when it holds its opponents in single digits for scoring.

Midfielders Nick Mariano and Brendan Bomberry lead the Orange with 13 and 12 points respectively. Mariano has seven goals on the season while Bomberry has eight.

Redshirt senior midfielder Sergio Salcido is picking up right where he left off last season, leading the squad in assists per game with eight in total.

The Orange should come in with some confidence having won its last two matchups with Virginia, including a tight 14-13 loss at Klockner Stadium in 2016. The last time these teams met in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse cruised past UVA to a 15-9 victory.

As for the Cavaliers, the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Week, senior attackman Zed Williams, leads UVA with 15 assists and 25 points. Sharing the team lead with Jared Connors in ground balls with 24, Williams is the only player in the nation with at least 20 points and 20 ground balls. 

Virginia is coming off a down season, going winless in conference play and 7-8 overall. They have a new head coach as well in Lars Tiffany, formerly of Brown University.

UVA Freshman midfielder Dox Aitken leads UVA with 16 goals, while junior attackman Mike D’Amario rounds out the top scorers with 14 goals and 18 points.