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No. 6 Syracuse is riding a high right now that no player and its roster has ever witnessed before. The Orange have won three straight games against ranked opponents for the first time since 2019, defeating Johns Hopkins, Delaware and most recently, Duke.

The 10-4 win over the Blue Devils was an ugly, low-scoring affair highlighted by Will Mark’s Syracuse career-high in save percentage (77.8). The last time Duke scored that less was in 2012. It was SU’s best defensive performance against a conference opponent since joining the ACC in 2014.

Now, the Orange take on what very well will be their final unranked opponent of the season. In the 109th edition of the rivalry, Syracuse and Hobart will fight for the Kraus-Simmons Trophy in the snowy conditions of Geneva, New York. The last time SU traveled to Hobart was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s everything you need to know before No. 6 Syracuse (8-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) faces Hobart (3-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10):

All-time series

Syracuse leads 80-26-2.

Last time they played

Syracuse surrendered a 2-0 lead to Hobart for the second straight year on March 25, 2023. But the Orange answered back via a Joey Spallina behind-the-back goal, leading to a 3-0 SU run in 90 seconds. Eventually, Syracuse turned that into a 7-0 run to take hold of the game.

“We have confidence in these guys if we’re down a couple of goals,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “We responded.”

The Orange comfortably won 18-7, which was a stark contrast from an 18-16 win in 2022, for their ninth straight victory over Hobart. Spallina scored another behind-the-back goal in the fourth quarter too, finishing with a team-high six points.

The Statesmen report

Hobart is coming off one of its worst seasons in recent years, a 5-8 finish in 2023 which included only one win in its first year in the Atlantic 10 conference. The Statesmen haven’t really been able to turn things around this year, standing absolutely no chance in their ranked nonconference contests.

Hobart opened up the season against then-No. 20 Colgate, losing 16-11 a week after the Raiders lost to the Orange. The Statesmen lost 18-8 to then-No. 14 Michigan the following week before losing 23-7 to then-No. 9 Cornell on Feb. 27.

Statistically, Hobart is tied for 64th in the country in caused turnovers with 6.00 per game. Its shot percentage of .266 is 52nd nationally. But the Statesmen do jump off the page in faceoffs. They have the seventh-best faceoff percentage in the country with a 61.6% win rate, led by Adam Shea’s 59.7% mark at the X.

Shea is back for his graduate season as part of a cohort of veteran players on Hobart’s squad. Senior Anthony Dattellas leads the team in points with 28, including 16 goals and 12 assists. But there is some new blood with the second-highest scorer being freshman Chris Patterson.

How Syracuse beats Hobart

While these games typically have a lot more weight to them and tend to be close, especially at the start, the Orange can’t let the Statesmen dictate the pace of the game. Syracuse can’t afford to fall back early this year like it has in the two previous seasons. In order to keep its momentum going into the rest of ACC play, it has to get up early and maintain a strong advantage throughout the evening.

The play at the faceoff X is also going to be crucial. Over the last three games, Mason Kohn and John Mullen have shown their ability to go against faceoff specialists from ranked teams and give the Orange enough opportunities offensively to win games. But they did struggle against Duke, losing the opening eight faceoffs. If the faceoff tandem can’t bounce back from an atrocious Wednesday afternoon, Syracuse might be in trouble.

Luckily, one of the worst performances at the faceoff X allowed for a career day from Mark. The consistent play from Mark and John Odierna’s defense is enough to keep Hobart at bay even if it does get too many possessions on Saturday.

Stat to know: 2

Forget Duke-North Carolina on the hardwood floor, or Ohio State-Michigan on the gridiron, the Syracuse-Hobart rivalry is the one of the longest and most storied rivalries in college sports. Both teams championed the sport at two different levels, the Orange being in Division I and the Statesmen in Division III. While SU won 11 NCAA Championships (including one vacated), Hobart rattled off 12 straight starting in 1980.

But in this century, the contests between both sides have been one-sided to say the least. Syracuse has only lost the Kraus-Simmons Trophy twice in the 21st century, first in 2006 and then in 2013. The Orange made the Final Four and NCAA Championship game both years, respectively.

Player to watch: Adam Shea, faceoff specialist, No. 51

Shea is undoubtedly going to control the game. He’s posted over a 50% win percentage in every season at Hobart and is on pace to finish with his best mark at the X since becoming the Statesmen’s main option in 2022.

Shea’s best performance this season in games with more than 10 attempts came against Canisius, when he finished 11-of-13 in a 13-9 win. He’s currently 15th-best nationally in faceoff win percentage.

Published on March 22, 2024 at 5:23 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu