Men's Lacrosse

Syracuse men’s lacrosse opponent preview: What to know about No. 1 Notre Dame

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The Fighting Irish were celebrating plenty the last time these two teams met. UND easily beat Syracuse, 17-7.

Two of college lacrosse’s hottest teams square off Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana, where top-ranked Notre Dome hosts No. 4 Syracuse. The ACC showdown, which will air on ESPNU, features a Syracuse team that has won four straight and a UND team backed by a top defense. SU (6-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) has played in a program-record six straight one-goal games, while the Fighting Irish (5-1, 1-0) have played in three of their own.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of Saturday’s bout.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 8-4

Last time they played: The Orange won seven of the teams’ first eight meetings in the series, which began in 2001. UND has since won three straight, including a double-overtime thriller between then-No. 1 Syracuse and then-No. 2 Notre Dame two years ago in South Bend. Last year, the Fighting Irish smoked SU 17-7 in the Carrier Dome in SU’s 100th anniversary game. Then-UND freshman attack Ryder Garnsey scored a career-high five goals in the rout. SU’s Jordan Evans notched three scores.

The Notre Dame report: UND has an onslaught of talent on both sides of the ball. The program’s staple, its defense, held a deadly Maryland offense to just four goals in a 5-4 win on March 4. When Notre Dome took considerable losses on defense in the graduations of Matt Landis and Edwin Glazener, the Fighting Irish simply reloaded.



Sophomore Hugh Crance plays alongside experienced players Pat Healy and Garrett Epple on UND’s eighth-ranked defense. The unit has depth, experience and budding talent off the bench. In goal stands Shane Doss, a senior in his fourth year as a regular starter. At UND, defense reigns.

“Every year they come out with a great defense,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. “They hunt you down to put the ball on the ground … They really make you work hard for your goals, so we’d like some transition.”

A new era began with the graduation of stud attackman Matt Kavanagh. One of college lacrosse’s most lethal weapons, senior midfielder Sergio Perkovic, is a matchup nightmare who shoots 110 miles per hour. He can dodge left and right, bullying smaller defenders with his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame. His statistics may not show it (a modest 10 goals), but he’s shot more accurately over UND’s last three contests.

“Perkovic up top,” Desko said, “he’s got to be one of, if not the best, midfielder guys in the country.”

Then there’s Garnsey, a sophomore who poses as UND’s top offensive player. The left-hander leads the Fighting Irish in points and scored the game-winner against Virginia in overtime two weeks ago. Garnsey is flanked by fellow attackmen Brendan Gleason and Mikey Wynne, whom Desko singled out as a threat. UND will look to substitute quickly and get five-on-four opportunities.

“We’re sharing the ball,” Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan said. “The ball is not sitting anywhere. We’ve played well without the ball, something we didn’t do well enough last year. That makes offense easier. That’s the grease that makes our offense go.”

How Syracuse beats Notre Dame: On paper, the teams stand fairly even. At times, Syracuse’s balanced offense looks lethal. Other times, it has stagnated. A deciding factor will be which Ben Williams shows up — the dominant All-American at the X or the Williams of last week, when he posted a career-worst day and was taken out in the fourth quarter. Last year against UND faceoff specialist P.J. Finley, Williams won just 45.8 percent of faceoffs.

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Ally Moreo | Photo Editor

Capitalizing on man-up chances and quick breakaways in transitions could get SU easy goals. The Orange converts on half of its man-ups, good for eighth in the country. Last week in SU’s victory against Duke, Syracuse scored several quick goals in transition. That may be what Syracuse needs to get past the UND defense.

“Our ability to defend them as a group is going to be important,” Corrigan said. “Taking away the easy goals, making them earn goals six-on-six. They’ve got a lot of different guys. We’ve got to defend them all. You can’t spend your time worrying about one guy.”

Stats to know:

3 — Number of consecutive victories for UND against Syracuse after the Orange won eight of the teams’ first nine meetings

28 — Number of points for Garnsey through six games, more than anyone on SU through seven games

45.8 — Percentage of faceoffs Ben Williams won last year against UND’s P.J. Finley

Player to watch: Ryder Garnsey, attack, No. 50

Garnsey, a 5-foot-10, 177-pound sophomore, leads the Fighting Irish with 28 points through six games, more than any SU player through seven games. The 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year ranked second on UND in goals (27), second in assists (12) and third in points (39). He has 14 goals and 28 points this season, and will warrant a strong defensive effort from SU if he’ll be neutralized.





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