Support your favorite college newsroom with a gift! We’re offering the first 200 donors who make a gift of $44 or more a copy of the book published by The D.O. chronicling the men’s basketball team’s 2002-03 season. Donate today and help us win College Media Madness.

Syracuse forced overtime against then-No. 6 Duke, storming back to reclaim a lead it lost in the third quarter at the end of regulation. A final goal from Finn Thomson in front of the crease sent the Orange into the first overtime period with momentum, and a 13-13 tie. But after a strong defensive effort and two of Will Mark’s 27 saves in the afternoon, Charles Balsamo sent in a shot from about 10 yards away that flew behind Mark. Now, on a three-game losing streak and out of the top 20 for the first time since week two, SU will welcome No. 10 Johns Hopkins to the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Blue Jays jumped five spots in the latest Inside Lacrosse rankings following a one-goal win over Saint Joseph’s, and they enter Saturday’s game at 4-3 with other wins over Georgetown, Jacksonville and Utah. But they are coming off an 18-13 loss to No. 1 Virginia on Tuesday. The Blue Jays stand as the final ranked opponent for Syracuse before it takes on three unranked teams.

Here is everything you need to know about Johns Hopkins (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten).

All-time series

Johns Hopkins leads 31-28.

Last time they played

Last year, Syracuse fell to 2-4 after a 10-7 loss at Johns Hopkins in a game where only Tucker Dordevic notched more than one goal. Despite the Orange outshooting the Blue Jays 54-29, winning 14-of-21 faceoffs, causing 21 turnovers and picking up nine more ground balls, their offense couldn’t get going enough. After the game, head coach Gary Gait said that while the Orange played well in every facet except finishing off shots on goal, they struggled to execute throughout, leading to the loss.

The Orange entered halftime tied with Johns Hopkins at 4-4, a low-scoring affair that saw Harrison Thompson end the day with seven saves on 29 shots. But in the third quarter, Syracuse allowed four goals, led by Joey Epstein’s five points and Jonathan Peshko’s three goals. It ended up being the second fewest goals the Orange would score last year, as they only notched six goals in a blowout at Notre Dame toward the end of the season.

Zak Wolf | Digital Assistant Editor

The Blue Jays report

After the win over Syracuse last season, Johns Hopkins sputtered out, winning just two of its final seven games before falling to Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. It got off to a terrific start to 2023, headlined by an upset win over then-No. 3 Georgetown and an ensuing victory over Jacksonville. But the Blue Jays haven’t tallied more than 15 goals in a game this season, and were held to eight and seven goals in their losses to North Carolina and Loyola Maryland, respectively.

In his fifth season at Johns Hopkins, Garrett Degnon is pacing the team in goals (14) and shots (33), while freshman Matt Collison has impressed in his first season with 13 goals and an assist. Attack Jacob Angelus is leading the team with 24 points, 18 of which have come from assists as a catalyst for the Blue Jays. Tim Marcille is their man in net, but has allowed 75 goals through his six starts. He’s also saved 81 shots, compiling a save percentage of 52%.

How Syracuse beats Johns Hopkins

The Orange have a faceoff and ground ball problem that has persisted throughout the three-game losing streak. Gait said after the loss to Duke that Johnny Richiusa still had the starting job, but that Jack Fine was plugged in at certain points when Richiusa was struggling. The Blue Jays have picked up the most ground balls in the Big Ten, but have the worst faceoff percentage — 48.4% — in the conference. Had it not been for a standout performance by Mark, the Orange wouldn’t have been to even sniff overtime against the Blue Devils.

With the similar defensive breakdowns and inability to clear the ball and generate scoring opportunities, Syracuse is likely to struggle once again. However, if Richiusa can perform like he did against the Tar Heels and the Orange’s offense can rebound — and Joey Spallina can return from his midseason slide — they should pace the Blue Jays and beat them for the first time since 2020.

Stat to know: 16.43

Johns Hopkins is averaging 16.43 turnovers per game and is one of six teams in Division-I lacrosse that has coughed up more than 100 turnovers thus far this season. While the Orange may have struggles at the faceoff X, picking up ground balls and generating consistent offense, it tends to play clean games and has caused 49 turnovers throughout its first six games. They can lean on the Blue Jays’ somewhat sloppy play in order to quickly storm back and eliminate a deficit or pile on goals and get out to a sizable lead.

Player to watch: Jacob Angelus, No. 23, attack

Though he has scored just five goals this season, Angelus is one of the top catalysts for offense in the country, garnering 18 assists through seven games for the Blue Jays — the most in the country. His 2.6 assists per game is one of the best in the nation, and he could prove to be a difficult matchup for a Syracuse defense that held off Duke’s penetrators early, but wilted as the game progressed and ultimately let up 14 goals. He finished last year with 16 goals and his sophomore season with 12, showing his ability to — along with assisting — score on his own.

Published on March 8, 2023 at 11:56 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt