THE GAME
– One last rodeo at the JMA Wireless Dome in the regular season for the Syracuse University men’s lacrosse team as the Orange are set for another top-10 showdown, this time against No. 4/4 University of Virginia on Saturday.
– Game time is scheduled for 2 pm at the Dome with ESPNU on hand for the event. Jay Alter ’16 and Paul Carcaterra ’97 will have the call the nationally televised game.
– Syracuse caps the 2024 regular season against the Cavaliers and return home for the first time in month – the last home game was a 10-4 win over then third-ranked Duke on March 20.
– Tim Leonard (play-by-play) and Kyle Fetterly (analyst) take to the airwaves on TK99/105, Cuse.com, The Varsity App, and TuneIn App, as well as Syracuse University student-radio station WAER. Ian Nicholas and Andrew Selover are on-air for WAER this week.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE DOME…
– As the saying goes, there’s no place like home – doubly true when it’s the JMA Wireless Dome.
– Syracuse opened the 2024 season with seven-straight games at home – the most consecutive home games to open a season since the Orange moved into the Dome in 1981.
– The previous highwater mark for consecutive games at the Dome to open a season was six to lead off the 2019 season. The Orange went 4-2 in that span, picking off No. 14 UAlbany, No. 15 Army West Point, No. 17 Johns Hopkins, and No. 16 Rutgers along the way.
– Syracuse is 29-3 in season openers at home since the Dome opened.
– ‘Cuse is 268-54 all-time in the JMA Dome since the 1981 season after taking down No. 3/4 Duke on March 20 by a 10-4 count.
– The Orange went 5-2 in the seven-game homestand that opened the 2024 season.
– Syracuse is 14-11 in the Dome under head coach Gary Gait, including a 6-2 mark this year. The Orange have had a winning record at home over the last two years, going 5-4 in 2023 for an 11-6 mark across the past pair of campaigns.
THE VIRGINIA SERIES
– It’s an older but sporadic series between Syracuse and Virginia as the teams first met on April 14, 1938 – a 13-4 Syracuse win in Charlottesville.
– The teams didn’t meet again until 1950, a 13-7 Virginia win, and not again until 1986 which Virginia won 12-10 in Newark, Delaware in late May.
– All-time the series is nearly even – Syracuse trails 21-20 after falling behind 19-12 on the road last season.
– The Orange are seeking their first home win over the Cavaliers since a 20-10 decision, doubling up Virginia, ranked third at the time which then went on to win the 2021 National Championship.
– Since Syracuse joined the ACC, the Orange are 6-5 in league play against the Cavaliers, but 4-5 in the last 10 overall meetings. The Orange will look to snap a three-game skid against Virginia dating back to the 2021 season.
BENCH MOB
– Flexing serious depth this year, Syracuse’s bench is among the deepest in the country.
– The Orange starting unit has banked 249 points (146g, 103a) this year, the highest point and assist totals for starters in the ACC this year. Syracuse’s starters have added 103 assists – the only ACC team with over 100 starter assists.
– But the depth goes beyond the official starters. Orange bench players have contributed 92 points (60g, 32a) this year, nine clear of the second-most bench points in the league (Duke – 82).
– Orange substitutes lead the ACC in goals (60) and assists (32).
– In addition to getting scoring depth, the Orange have limited opponent scoring depth as well. Stars will get their points but a contributing factor to a 10-4 record to date is in limiting bench points.
– Opposing subs have racked just 45 total points against the Orange this year, second-fewest in the ACC. Opponent benches have combined for just 27 goals and 18 assists, both the second-best in the league behind No. 1 Notre Dame (17 bench goals allowed, 10 bench assists allowed).
– Syracuse has not allowed double digit points to an opponent bench this season, peaking at seven twice (High Point, Johns Hopkins). The most goals an opponent bench has scored this year were five against No. 1 Notre Dame on the road.
