Syracuse men’s lacrosse (7-2 overall, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) returns to the JMA Wireless Dome to take on Georgetown (3-3 overall, Big East) this Sunday. The Orange have yet to lose at home this season, with wins over then-No. 17 Boston University, Saint Joseph’s and then-No. 1 Maryland.
Since hiring Gary Gait as head coach, SU has a dominant 27-13 record at home. In away and neutral site games, the Orange have limped to a 17-18 record. Gait recognizes the importance of getting back home after a six game road stretch.
“We’ve kind of been all over the place. It’s been cold, it’s been warm, it’s been all sorts of things. We’ve adapted to all of it and came through and now we get to go back to the friendly confines of the dome,” he said.
The road trip also included drastic improvements for Syracuse at X. SU lost the faceoff battle in two of its first three games of the stretch. Its only advantage in that span came against Harvard by a one win margin. However, the latter matchups told a different story. The ‘Cuse won the faceoff battle in its previous three games by a combined total of 51-31.
The faceoff will be key for Syracuse on Sunday. The Orange have the 20th-best faceoff win percentage in NCAA Division I at 55.6%. On the other hand, the Hoyas’ 44.9% win rate ranks 14th-worst. Georgetown has outdueled opponents at the X just once this season.
Despite its .500 record, the Hoyas keep games competitive at the start. Georgetown has not been outscored in the first quarter in any of its matchups this season. Conversely, Syracuse has been hotter in the latter half of games. Senior attackman Joey Spallina credited halftime adjustments by the coaching staff.
“It really doesn’t matter how much you win the game by, as long as you win by one. I think we’ve been doing a great job of coming out of halftime and starting hot,” said Spallina. “I think our coaches do a great job of putting us in the correct spots coming out of the half.”
In its past three battles, SU scored 24 second-half goals, compared to just 18 in the first half. On the contrary, Georgetown has scored two more first-half goals this season than it has in the second half.
Both squads head into Sunday’s battle on hot streaks. The Orange have won their past four games while the Hoyas have won back-to-back contests. Coach Gait put SU’s teamwork on the forefront in its most recent win.
“We got through it. Team stuck together, believed, trusted each other, made plays when they needed to, against a very scrappy and very good Denver team,” said Gait. “Just proud of our guys for stepping up when we needed them, making plays, and finishing the game.”
Syracuse’s defense will need to make plays to slow down Georgetown attackman Rory Connor, whose 4.5 goals per game leads the nation. Despite Connor’s contributions, the Hoyas still average just the 30th most scores in Division I.
Find out this Sunday if Syracuse can extend its winning streak to five games. WAER has the call at 1 p.m. ET, with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 12:30.