No. 6 Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse (8-4, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won three straight games against top-25 opponents. SU has managed to beat No. 16 Loyola University Maryland, No. 21 Notre Dame, and No. 10 Virginia. However, the gauntlet of a schedule continues. Syracuse battles No. 13 Yale (7-3, 1-2 Ivy League) Wednesday.
A big reason for Syracuse’s win streak has been its offense. The Orange have scored at least 12 goals in their last three games against ranked teams. However, Yale has one of the best defenses in the country. The Bulldogs are only allow seven goals a contest, which is second-best in the nation.
While SU's offense has been great, the draw control unit continues to be inconsistent. The Orange lost the draw control battle to Virginia 16-13 last week.
“The fourth quarter was a tough stretch for us for a lot of different reasons,” said SU head coach Kayla Treanor after Syracuse’s 13-12 win over No. 10 Virginia. “For draw controls, we didn’t win a single one in the fourth quarter so they were able to play make it take it.”
Meanwhile, Yale is winning 60 percent of its draw controls this season. In their last contest against 7th-ranked Princeton, the Bulldogs won 15 of the 28 draw controls.
Back on the Syracuse side, freshman Mileena Cotter scored her second hat trick of the season last weekend against UVA. The midfielder has scored in three straight games.
“It's never a one-person thing,” Cotter said. “I had a film session with coach Kayla and she said to trust myself and don’t let any outside thoughts get in the way.”
Cotter has tailed 12 goals this season which is tied for 4th most on the team.
Gametime between the squads is set for 1. Make sure to follow us on Twitter, @WAERSports for all live updates.