No. 10 Syracuse (4-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) downed then-No. 3 Duke, 15-14, on Saturday at Koskinen Stadium, bouncing back from its two-game skid. Jamie Trimboli scored with just more than a minute left to down the Blue Devils and give SU sole possession of first place in the ACC.

On Saturday, the Orange will return to the Carrier Dome to host No. 7 Notre Dame (5-2, 1-0) at 5 p.m. The Fighting Irish enter the contest fresh off a 9-8 road win over Ohio State, giving head coach Kevin Corrigan the 300th win of his coaching career. The Orange average one goal more per game than the Fighting Irish, but UND’s defense ranks much higher (21st nationally) than SU’s (59th).

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

Age is just a number?

The biggest difference between the Syracuse and Notre Dame offenses is experience. The Fighting Irish returns six of its top seven scorers from a year ago, losing only Sergio Perkovic to graduation. SU, on the other hand, returns two of its top five scorers and lost more than 50 percent of its point production.

Still, the Orange ranks 27th in the country with 11.29 goals per game and boasts a more balanced offense than a season ago. Five players have eight-plus goals, and 18 players have at least one goal through seven games.

“I see a young team that’s getting better every time they play,” Corrigan said. “It’s really finding their way like they always do.”

All season long, the young SU offense boasting just one starter who’s played in Desko’s system for two or more years has been inconsistent. There’s been a three-goal output against Albany and a seven-goal output against Johns Hopkins — both in the Carrier Dome. Then, there’s a 21-goal explosion against Binghamton and a 15-goal performance against Duke.

SU has shown glimpses of its potential, but putting it all together has been the struggle.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, has four scorers with 12-plus goals and ranks No. 40 in the country in scoring offense. SU has just one player — Brendan Bomberry — with 12-plus goals. Bryan Costabile leads the way for the Fighting Irish with 16 goals, but Ryder Garnsey and Brendan Gleason are tied for a team-high 19 points.

Rounding out the four-headed monster of UND’s offense is Mikey Wynne, who is second on the Fighting Irish with 13 goals. However, similar to Syracuse’s offense, Notre Dame has yet to put it all together this year.

The Fighting Irish has scored more than 12 goals once all season, and while the defense has helped make up for the struggles, the offense will likely need to score in double figures to pull away from a Syracuse team that has scored in double figures all but twice.

“There are times where we’re really good and shown the ability to do a lot of different things,” Corrigan said. “But we haven’t done it all consistently.”

X marks the spot

Despite downing Duke last week, Syracuse was blown out at the faceoff X. Sophomore faceoff specialist Danny Varello finished 2-for-12 and only took one faceoff in the fourth quarter. If it weren’t for Nick Martin, who won five-straight faceoffs to end the game, the Orange could be looking at a different outcome. And that was against a Duke faceoff unit that ranked No. 52 in the country with a 43.6 percent success rate entering the matchup.

On Saturday, Notre Dame will lean on senior faceoff specialist John Travisano Jr., who played limited minutes last year. He finished 2017 with a 47.3 percent success rate at the faceoff X and has improved mightily, winning 58.6 percent of faceoffs as the primary option.

“We’re just trying to take each faceoff as it comes and really battle each side,” Corrigan said. “(Travisano) has done a great job of doing that and making the adjustments within the game that he needs to make and competing on every draw.”

When Syracuse found success at the faceoff X against Virginia, head coach John Desko was using two long poles on the wings — normally Brett Kennedy, Austin Fusco or Jared Fernandez, who is now out for the year with injury.

And while Syracuse did manage to walk away with a one-goal win over Duke despite going 12-for-32 at the faceoff X, giving the offense extra possessions could make the difference against a strong UND defense.

Driver’s seat of the ACC

With Syracuse’s win over Duke last week, the Orange gained sole possession of first place in the ACC. If SU defeats the Fighting Irish on Saturday, it will all but ensure SU taking home the regular season crown. But a loss allows Notre Dame to slide into the top spot.

Notre Dame downed Virginia, which still has yet to win a regular-season ACC game since March 2014, and will face Duke the week after Syracuse. Meanwhile, North Carolina is 6-4 and on a four-game skid with all four ACC opponents still on the docket.

That means if UND wins Saturday, the Orange needs Duke and North Carolina to down the Fighting Irish — along with Syracuse beating UNC — to guarantee finishing as the No. 1 seed for the ACC tournament. Last year, Syracuse took home the top seed before falling in the opening round to the Tar Heels.

Saturday’s game is important for both these teams, as it will go far in deciding the winner of the regular season crown. The winner will have a distinct advantage entering tournament play.

Published on March 28, 2018 at 9:30 pm

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