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Then-No. 9 Notre Dame used a 9-2 second-quarter run to flip a deficit into a blowout loss for the then-No. 4 Orange on Saturday. The two since flipped spots in the latest Inside Lacrosse rankings, and now No. 9 Syracuse will take on the unranked UAlbany on Thursday. 

Syracuse will look to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2016. The matchup will mark Syracuse’s last before it plays three consecutive ACC opponents to close out the season against North Carolina, Virginia and Notre Dame. Here’s everything you need to know about the Great Danes before they travel to the Carrier Dome for Thursday evening’s game: 

All-time series

Syracuse leads, 16-2

Last time they played

Syracuse defeated UAlbany in February 2019 a week after an upset loss to Colgate in SU’s season-opener. The Orange dominated the ground-ball battle 44-24 and scored three man-up goals. Syracuse’s defense contained Albany star attack Tehoka Nanticoke to just two goals a year after he trampled SU’s defensive unit for five in his collegiate debut. Nanticoke was frequently double-teamed by Tyson Bomberry and others. Bomberry finished with a team-high seven ground balls on the day.

The Orange successfully avoided their first 0-2 start in 45 years that day courtesy of six goals and an assist from attack Bradley Voigt. Brendan Curry added another five through two goals and three assists, a then-career-high for the midfielder. The two combined for more than half of Syracuse’s goals in its 13-5 victory. 

The Albany report

The Great Danes recently dismissed Nanticoke, their star attack, on March 31. The senior was released from the program following “internal team issues.” In a personal statement, he called it a “group decision.” Nanticoke was yelling at teammates and coaches during UAlbany-Stony Brook, which was “the last straw,” according to ESPN’s Chris Jastrzembski. 

Nanticoke was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2017, according to Inside Lacrosse, and finished with 15 goals and eight assists through five games in 2021. 

Without Nanticoke, the Great Danes’ offense is led by sophomore Graydon Hogg and senior Jakob Patterson, who now lead the team in goals and assists, respectively. 

The Great Danes’ defense allows 10 goals per game — a rate that’s just outside the top-20 nationally — while the SU offense has averaged 15, the sixth-most in the nation. 

When asked about Albany on Tuesday, head coach John Desko said the Great Danes’ unit is “a little bit of a freelancing group offensively, which makes it harder to pick up their tendencies.” They’re good in transition, too, he said. 

How Syracuse beats the Great Danes

Syracuse’s defense struggled last weekend to contain the nation’s top assist leader, Pat Kavanagh of Notre Dame, who notched nine points in the Dome. But SU’s defense should be more prepared for Patterson and Hogg. Nick DiPietro, Grant Murphy and Mitch Wykoff will need to win their one-on-one matchups and slide when appropriate against an Albany offense that averages 14.57 goals per game.

Syracuse has struggled at the faceoff X for the past few weeks, winning just 17-of-47 faceoffs during its last two games against Duke and Notre Dame. Jakob Phaup is going through what’s likely the roughest patch of his career, with just two wins during his last 16 faceoffs, and Desko has benched the junior specialist by the second quarter of the last two games. 

Backup Danny Varello is struggling as well, winning less than half of faceoffs in four of the six games he played in this season. Syracuse went to freshman Jack Savage when it needed a boost and trailed against Notre Dame, and it found more success, but Savage still won just 6-of-17 during his collegiate debut. 

The Orange will be matched up against faceoff specialist Regan Endres (51.1%). Syracuse is currently winning 46.3% of its faceoffs, and renewed dominance at the X in an up-and-down year will be crucial for SU.

Syracuse’s offense is efficient enough to dissect UAlbany’s defense — it just needs to see more of the ball. After Notre Dame, Desko said that 11 goals on 24 possessions meant “we probably didn’t play that bad offensively for the amount of time we had the ball.” 

SU wins if its defense gets stops and its faceoff unit is revived so the offense can go to work. 

Player to watch: Graydon Hogg, attack, No. 45

Without Nanticoke, Albany’s offensive weapon is Hogg. The sophomore scored six goals and added an assist in the Great Danes’ most recent game against UMass Lowell. He had a five-point performance against lacrosse powerhouse Maryland in 2020 before the season ended, too.

The Orange have started Wykoff covering the opponents’ top attack — he guarded Virginia’s Matt Moore, Duke’s Michael Sowers and Notre Dame’s Kavanagh. The results have been up-and-down, but if Wykoff can lock up Hogg one-on-one instead of requiring a double or slides, that’ll open up SU’s defensive options. 

Stat to know: 39

Albany averages 39 ground balls per game, the third-most in the nation. Syracuse, meanwhile, averages 30.3 per game, 37th in the nation. Against Notre Dame, Brett Kennedy said postgame that SU was “outworked” on ground balls, a battle SU lost 45-20. 

“All around, we have to be faster, bigger, stronger,” Kennedy said. 

Given SU’s faceoff issues, factors such as ground balls and defensive clearances are even more important, Desko said Tuesday. If the Great Danes are quick to scoop up loose balls the way they’ve been through their first seven games, they have the potential to further limit Syracuse’s offensive possessions, which could prove problematic for SU.

Published on April 7, 2021 at 11:35 pm

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16