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In Syracuse’s first game at the No. 1 ranking this season, the Orange continued their undefeated start to the season, with a 16-11 win over No. 6 Stony Brook at the JMA Wireless Dome, to improve to 10-0.

After an opening quarter that featured 10 combined goals between the two sides, SU outscored the Seawolves 6-3 in the second period to start to pull away. Up until that point, Syracuse largely played catch-up, forced to generate a response to counter Morgan Mitchell’s career-high, seven-goal night.

Next, Syracuse faces a struggling Louisville team on the road. The Cardinals come into the contest on a three game losing skid, last beating Pittsburgh at the beginning of the month. Most recently, it fell in a nonconference matchup to Marquette, 11-15.

Here’s everything you need to know about Syracuse (10-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) and Louisville: (4-5, 1-3 ACC):

All Time Series

Syracuse leads 12-1

Last Time They Played

Then-No. 4 ranked Syracuse faced Louisville at Christian Brothers Academy on April 16, 2022. After Jenna Markey opened up the scoring for SU, the Cardinals kept close, ending the first quarter knotted at two apiece and trailing by only one at halftime.

However, in the penultimate period, the Orange outscored Louisville 12-3. It was the most goals tallied by Syracuse in a single quarter that season. Nine different players got on the scoreboard as Emily Hawryschuk and Meaghan Tyrrell both netted five each. Kate Mashewske set a single-season program record of 19 draw controls, tying head coach Kayla Treanor’s feat from before.

Syracuse emerged with a comfortable 23-13 victory to grab its sixth win in ACC play. The Orange would go on to beat UAlbany in its return to the Dome before losing its regular season finale to Boston College.

The Cardinal Report

Louisville has never strung together more than two wins this season, despite starting the season impressively. In its season opener, the Cardinals held then-No. 9 Denver to just five goals in a narrow loss before cruising to a 12-5 victory over then-No. 25 ranked Colorado. But, since then, it’s been on and off.

In Louisville’s last conference game, the Cardinals were picked apart by now-No. 2 North Carolina, 20-7. The Tar Heels faced no trouble, charting 12 goals in the second half and holding Louisville scoreless in the final period.

Nicole Perroni is the target for this Cardinal offense. Through nine games this season, she’s totaled a team-high 25 goals. Kylea Dobson and Hannah Morris round out a versatile, three-pronged force going forward producing 15 goals each. Against UNC, the only other Louisville scorer, not named Morris or Perroni, was Kokoro Nakazawa. The attack from Japan is dangerous near goal and holds 21 points this year, made up of 13 goals and eight assists.

How Syracuse Beats Louisville

Syracuse has never looked uncomfortable this season. Although its season opener against Northwestern resulted in a 16-15 shootout, and most recently against Stony Brook it took a while for the Orange to figure out the Seawolf offense, SU has always managed to bounce back efficiently for a convincing win. Syracuse just has to continue doing what it has all season against a middling ACC team.

On the offensive side, most teams have opted to face-guard Meaghan recently, leaving her stranded on the right sideline. But, it hasn’t slowed down a multi-faceted Syracuse attack, led by Megan Carney. With Ward supplying, Carney in-form, and a wide range of scoring talent in Olivia Adamson, Emma, and the SU midfield, it won’t be easy for Louisville to slow ACC’s leader in goals per game (16.33).

Defensively, the Orange lost Bianca Chevarie to a lower-leg injury last time out but Jordan Deblasio stepped in seamlessly to fill the gap. Delaney Sweitzer has continued to prove she’s one of the top goalies in the country and Katie Goodale spearheads a back-line that, at one point, let in just nine goals in two games. The Cardinals shouldn’t bother Syracuse in its quest to remain undefeated.

Stat To Know: 25.11

Louisville averages just 25.11 shots per game which ranks 87/125 nationally, per LacrosseReference. With only four players in double-digit scoring this season, the Cardinal offense doesn’t do a great job supplying its key goal-getters. And when they do, oftentimes, it won’t be a clean look well inside the 8-meter.

Even when Louisville does manage to get a shot off, it musters a success rate of just 74.3% which ranks 94th in the country — a number which should only drop versus one of the best defenses in the country in Syracuse.

Player To Watch: Nicole Perroni, Midfield, No. 88

The former IWLCA All-Region Second Team honoree not only leads Louisville in goals, but also in points (28). Holding a 46.3% shot percentage, Perroni’s best game this year came in Louisville’s 15-12 win over Vanderbilt where Perroni netted four times and dished out another two assists. Last season, she registered 50 goals in just 18 games.

Perroni largely operates just outside the 12-meter before passing and cutting toward goal. She loves to get forward as an attack-minded midfielder and plays with a score-first mentality.

Published on March 25, 2023 at 10:32 am

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff