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Syracuse has strung together four straight wins to start the season, and it’s fresh off its first conference win of the season against Pitt last Saturday. In that game, Syracuse dominated the Panthers, leading by 10 goals at halftime and finishing with a 16-4 win. Now, the team is gearing up to host a 2-2 UAlbany squad that has rattled off two wins in a row.

After two wins over top-five opponents to open the year, Syracuse propelled itself to the No. 2 spot on Inside Lacrosse’s Women/Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association rankings. SU has followed that up with two more wins against Binghamton and Pitt, outscoring those opponents 33-14.

UAlbany’s 2022 campaign came to a disappointing end, losing to Vermont 12-11 in the America East Championship after earning the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Here’s all you need to know about the Great Danes (2-2, 0-0 America East) ahead of their trip to the Dome on Wednesday:

All-time series:

Syracuse leads, 15-0.

Last time they played

Last year, Syracuse secured a convincing 18-11 win over UAlbany, scoring seven consecutive goals to start the game. Emily Hawryschuk, Sam Swart and Olivia Adamson combined for 10 goals that day. Hawryschuk would later break SU’s all-time goals record.

After going up 7-0, UAlbany put one in right before the end of the first quarter. The Orange responded with five more unanswered goals to give the team a 12-1 lead. Two-thirds of the Orange’s first twelve scores against the Great Danes were unassisted.

But, the Great Danes caught up as the game wore on. Nine of the Great Danes’ 11 goals came in the second half after Syracuse already sported a double-digit lead. Kate Mashewske shined with 15 draw controls, and Meaghan Tyrrell led the team in assists with three.

The Great Danes report

The Great Danes continue to be one of the premier teams in the America East Conference. The team has a 24-4 conference record over the last four seasons. However, Albany hasn’t knocked off a ranked opponent since March 2021 when they beat No. 20 Hofstra 18-7. Also despite a phenomenal conference record, the Great Danes finished below .500 in 2022.

UAlbany’s main source of offense is midfielder Katie Pascale, who finds the back of the net over three times a game, on average. Pascale is also fifth nationally in points per game with six. She made first team all-conference for her sophomore season in 2022 and was second team in 2021.

The Great Danes have been turning the ball over a lot this year. Through four games, they’ve coughed up the ball 76 times. This is five more times than the team has forced turnovers. This could be a lingering issue from last season, when UAlbany totaled the second most turnovers in the conference with 270. The team has also struggled to scoop up ground balls, ranking last in the conference in that category.

How Syracuse beats UAlbany

Syracuse is the only ranked team UAlbany plays this year as of now. The Orange have never allowed UAlbany to score more than 12 goals, while Syracuse has eclipsed that mark themselves in every game this year.
It’s important for Syracuse to pepper the net with shots against the Great Danes. The team has had trouble with this to start the year, but has since begun to put more pressure on opposing goalies. This is key against UAlbany, as the team has a collective save percentage of .375. In last year’s match up, the Great Danes only stopped 28% of shots Syracuse sent their way.

Syracuse can easily win the turnover battle against UAlbany. The Orange have forced a handful of turnovers against every team they’ve played, including elite teams like Northwestern and Maryland. With that, there are only three teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference that turn the ball over less than Syracuse. UAlbany leads its conference in turnovers with 19 per game.

Stat to know: 12

The Great Danes have been converting on free positions, scoring on 12 of their 18 chances this season. Syracuse has allowed 34 of these opportunities in 2023, but luckily for the Orange, Delaney Sweitzer has been strong in net. She’s posted a 0.706 save percentage against free positions. This could be a way UAlbany applies pressure in the game, but Syracuse has one of the best in net to handle that stress.

Player to watch: Sarah Falk, midfielder, No. 33

Along with Pascale in the midfield, Falk has been a significant contributor for the Great Danes. Pascale is fourth in the America East Conference with 5.75 shots per game, but Falk has been efficient, too. She ranks first on the team in putting shots on net and is second on the team in shots on goal percentage for players with a minimum of five shots.

Published on March 1, 2023 at 12:34 am

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu