No. 7 Syracuse (9-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) men’s lacrosse has had plenty of time to either reminisce or forget about last Tuesday’s ugly 18-17 double-overtime loss to Cornell.
The Orange led by as many as seven goals. Nonetheless, the Big Red surged in the fourth quarter and eventually defended home turf.
It came down to the wire, but No. 13 @CornellLacrosse attackman CJ Kirst found the back of the net to snatch the win from No. 4 @CuseMLAX in 2OT.@TylerJAitken was on the mic for the senior's game winner. pic.twitter.com/VhxnG1TyYL
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) April 4, 2024
“Cornell certainly didn’t quit,” said head coach Gary Gait after last week’s loss. “Obviously we got up early. They fought their way back and found a way to win in the end. A tough loss for our team and another opportunity to learn.”
It’s time for coach Gait’s squad to turn the page. The ‘Cuse gears up to play against North Carolina (6-5, 0-1 ACC) on the road on Saturday.
UNC is on a three-game skid, including losses against High Point, No. 12 Army, and No. 2 Virginia. The Tar Heels fell to the Cavaliers 14-6 over the weekend.
Two players who the Orange have never faced are attackmen Owen Duffy and Dominic Pietramala.
Duffy, the 2023 Inside Lacrosse No. 1 recruit, was held to just one goal against UVA.
Pietramala, the 2022 Inside Lacrosse No. 3 recruit, spent last season on the sidelines with an injury. The redshirt freshman is fresh off his first career scoreless performance against Virginia.
SU’s defense can take advantage of this, especially after it allowed seven straight goals in the second half against Cornell.
“The good thing is we have 12 or 13 days to prepare for our next game,” Gait said postgame in Ithaca last Tuesday. “This is one of our longest breaks of the year. We’re going to go back to some basics and fundamentals…and focus on what we need to do to have better success at the end of games like this.”
Pair this with the inconsistency for the ‘Cuse to stop opponents star players. The Orange allowed Big Red attackmen Michael Long and CJ Kirst to combine for 10 goals and 15 points. Yet, Syracuse gave up just one goal to last year’s Tewaaraton Award winner Brennan O’Neill just a couple weeks ago.
On the other hand, the Tar Heels allow 10 goals per game, the most in the ACC. SU’s defense isn’t much better with a 9.74 goals against average mark, just one spot ahead of UNC.
As far as the offense goes, North Carolina’s offense ranks last in the ACC with 13 goals per game. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s offense has cooled off. It posted just three goals in the second half against Cornell versus 14 in the first half.
“We have to get better,” said Gait. “We got to be mentally tougher. Offensively, we have to see the net and bury it with confidence.”
Which defense will step up this weekend? How does SU’s offense respond later in the game?
We’ll find out when Syracuse and North Carolina play at 1:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Saturday. The Orange edged the Tar Heels by just one goal last season. WAER’s coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff.