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In 2019, Northwestern eliminated Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, ending a 16-win season. This year, the Orange have 16 wins again — and the chance to redeem themselves against the Wildcats.

On Friday, No. 3 seed Syracuse (16-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast) returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2016 against No. 2 seed Northwestern (15-0, 11-0 Big Ten). If the Orange win, they would make their first championship game since 2014 and have the chance to win the first title in program history.

Here’s what you need to know about the Wildcats:

All-time series:

Northwestern leads 14-6

Last time they played:

When speaking about facing Northwestern last season, head coach Gary Gait said that the Orange “took care of business” in Evanston, Illinois. An explosive 8-1 second-half run fueled Syracuse’s 16-11 win over the Wildcats — a feat the Orange hope to repeat on Friday.

But in the first half, Syracuse’s defense collapsed, allowing Northwestern to go on a 6-1 run of their own. The Orange’s second-half success came mostly at the free position, an aspect that they have struggled with throughout the 2021 season. On 10 free position shots, SU scored five times, including four from Meaghan Tyrrell and Emily Hawryschuk.

The Northwestern Report

Northwestern’s offense leads the nation in points per game with a 29.47 average. The Wildcats won the Big Ten championship with a 17-12 win over Maryland, Northwestern’s second straight conference title.

The Wildcats’ success over the last few seasons is the result of stars like Izzy Scane and Lauren Gilbert leading their attack — Scane and Gilbert have a combined total of 159 goals this season. More recently, the Wildcats added another weapon to their attack, sophomore Erin Coykendall. With 2.93 assists per game, Coykendall has the seventh-best average in the country and is the biggest passing threat on Northwestern’s attack.

How Syracuse beats Northwestern

Defense, defense and more defense. Gait said that during Syracuse’s practice on Monday, it was practicing against a Northwestern-style offense and starting to see “what works best.” This most likely means that the Orange are still deciding on what kind of defensive set would work best against the Wildcats, whether that’s a high-pressure zone, a regular zone or a man-to-man defense.

Against high-powered offenses in the past, like No. 1 North Carolina, the Orange stuck to their normal zone, which involved defender Kerry Defliese functioning as a “backer” moving to wherever the ball is on the field. Syracuse held the Tar Heels to a season-low 9 scores, and this defense might be the answer against the Wildcats on Friday.

Stat to know: 40.4

Northwestern averages 40.4 shots per game, almost 15 more than what the Wildcats allow from its opponents. It’s the biggest reason for Northwestern’s offensive dominance, as defenses haven’t been able to figure out how to prevent the Wildcats from getting good quality shots off inside the 8-meter. This season, Northwestern has had great success against ACC defenses like Duke, who the Wildcats beat 22-10 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Northwestern had 44 shots against the Blue Devils, with 30 of those on target. If Syracuse can hold the Wildcats to under 40 shots, SU might have a chance to pull away in the game.

Player to watch: Izzy Scane, No. 27, Attack

Izzy Scane leads Northwestern’s star-studded attack — and the country — in goals per game (6.27) and points per game (7.80). When Scane has the ball in her stick, she is always in scoring position, with the best average for shots on goal (9.00) nationally as well.

While Scane’s strengths mostly deal with getting the ball in the back of the net, she has only recorded 23 assists this season. If the Orange want to have success against the best pure scorer in the NCAA, they need to force Scane to make passes and not let her penetrate the 8-meter.

Published on May 26, 2021 at 10:30 am

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu