No. 7 Syracuse men's lacrosse (9-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) travels to Durham this weekend looking to bounce back from a tough loss to top-ranked Cornell as it faces No. 12 Duke (9-4, 0-2 ACC) on Saturday.
The contest marks the second straight road game for the Orange, who remain in the top 10 despite falling to Cornell 17-12 last weekend on Long Island. The matchup against Duke is an opportunity for Syracuse to strengthen its position in the ACC standings with just two games remaining before the conference tournament.
“Tough battle. A really good Cornell team, number one team in the country for a reason. I'm proud of our guys for never giving up even when they were stringing plays together…Unfortunately we didn't find the opportunities we needed and came up with a loss,” said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait.
The Orange and Blue Devils have had an interesting rivalry over recent seasons. Last year, Syracuse had one of its best performances in a dominant 10-4 win over Duke during the regular season. However, the Blue Devils got revenge in the ACC Tournament with a 18-13 victory.
Duke underwent major roster changes after last season, losing several key players including former Tewaaraton Award winner Brennan O'Neill, all-american Jake Naso, and standout attackmen Dyson Williams and Josh Zawada. Despite those departures, the Blue Devils remain a fierce opponent with a new offensive lineup.
“They're definitely different and what typically happens is the team moves the ball better and becomes more of a team offense not relying on superstars to get the job done. Although they don't have the same players in some ways it'll help them with their offensive concept,” said Gait.
Duke's offense is now led by attackman Eric Malever, who leads the Blue Devils with 24 goals. Malever ranks top five in the ACC in points per game and has scored a point in every match this season.
Alongside Malever, midfielders Max Sloat and Andrew McAdorey have taken on larger roles in the offense. Sloat and McAdorey rank second and third in points for the Blue Devils, each netting over 15 goals this season.
While the Duke offense has gone through a revamp, the Syracuse defense, anchored by Tewaaraton Award nominee Billy Dwan III, is ready for the challenge.
“He's one of our captains this year. He's been playing pretty well over the last couple years and I think he's developed some confidence and he's certainly our leader on the defensive end,” said Gait.
Dwan ranks third on the team in caused turnovers with 10 and has also collected 19 ground balls. The junior defenseman leads an Orange squad that ranks sixth nationally in ground balls per game and tenth in scoring defense.
With just two regular-season games remaining before the conference tournament, Saturday’s matchup gives Syracuse a crucial chance to solidify its standing in the ACC and build momentum for a postseason run.
Syracuse and Duke battle Saturday at 2. Our coverage begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 1:30.