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Syracuse earned a first-round bye after getting the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Throughout 2024, the Orange had a 12-4 record and their 8-1 finish in conference play to win their first-ever outright Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title.
Despite cruising past Louisville and then-No. 6 Virginia to advance to the ACC Tournament title game, SU fell to Boston College. It was the second time the Eagles defeated the Orange, as they handed them an 11-10 overtime loss in the regular-season final. In the ACC Tournament Championship, Syracuse commanded a 5-1 lead in the first quarter, but BC proceeded to outscore it 14-3 en route to a blowout win.
Two weeks after their loss to Boston College, the Orange face Stony Brook in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On March 5, the Seawolves upset SU in a 13-12 overtime win at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Though Stony Brook picked up a huge win versus Syracuse, it dropped its next two games versus then-No. 15 Johns Hopkins and then-No. 14 Denver by a combined three goals. From there, it ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak, won the Coastal Athletic Association Championship and blew out Niagara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s how our beat writers feel No. 3 seed Syracuse (14-5, 8-1 ACC) will fare versus Stony Brook (18-2, 8-0 CAA) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament:
Aiden Stepansky
Survive and advance
Syracuse 14, Stony Brook 12
I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This is probably as hard of a first-round matchup as Syracuse could’ve drawn considering the Seawolves already defeated SU just over two months ago and haven’t lost since March 11. This one won’t be nearly as easy as Syracuse’s 25- 8 win over Johns Hopkins in the same round last season.
Midfielder Ellie Masera is one of the best players in the country and can punish the Orange in multiple ways, just like she did on March 5 or most recently against Niagara. But the Orange do have a key component on their side. Time.
Syracuse has two weeks of rest for this game while the Seawolves have just one day. Kayla Treanor and her staff have proven through wins over Notre Dame, North Carolina and recently Louisville in the ACC Tournament that the game plan is lethal when they have added time to prepare.
Coached by Joe Spallina, the Seawolves surely won’t go down without a fight. Syracuse likely will have to settle for containing Masera rather than stopping her completely. But I think in the second rendition, the Orange get their revenge by finishing on the right side of a back-and-forth affair and move on to the national quarterfinal for the third time under Treanor.
Justin Girshon
Disappointing ending
Stony Brook 17, Syracuse 16
All season long, I’ve been very optimistic about how Syracuse would perform in the postseason. In the preseason, I said it’d win its first national championship. Ahead of the ACC Tournament, I thought this was the year SU finally broke its nearly decade-long conference title drought.
Against pretty much any other team, I’d confidently say that the Orange would easily advance to the quarterfinals. Though with Stony Brook, it’s far from a given. While the Seawolves are not in a Power Five conference, they’ve shown that they should be regarded as one of the best teams in the country.
After defeating Syracuse on March 5, Stony Brook exuded confidence in the postgame press conference. Spallina said that the Seawolves were a top-five team in the nation, while goalie Avery Hines said she came into the game with a lot of confidence because she practices “against better girls every single day” in practice.
Though Syracuse is the only ranked team the Seawolves have beaten this season, I can see history repeating itself. While the Orange have played well off extended rest, they haven’t had two weeks off. Meanwhile, Stony Brook is hot at the right time, riding a 13-game winning streak and already have SU’s number. Like Boston College’s success against the Orange this season, I can see the Seawolves having history repeat twice to advance to the quarterfinals.
Timmy Wilcox
Momentum starts here
Syracuse 9, Stony Brook 8
Matching up with the Seawolves will be no easy task for the Orange. During Stony Brook’s 13-game winning streak, it has allowed 10 or fewer goals in all but one game, displaying pure defensive dominance.
SU enters coming off a one-goal second half in its ACC Championship loss to Boston College and this contest presents a challenge to kickstart the offense, something it will need to do early. In the ACC quarterfinals and semifinals, the Orange used eight-goal first quarters to propel them to lopsided victories. Syracuse’s recipe was to spread the ball around early and in each of the two games, it had nine different players tally goals.
For SU, scoring depth is crucial, but having Emma Tyrrell regain her confidence after a one-goal performance versus BC is too. On the defensive end, it will need to slow down the Seawolves’ offense, a group that led the CAA in goals per game (15.90). Early saves by Delaney Sweitzer will be monumental following her second-lowest save percentage (.286) of the season against the Eagles.
To get its momentum back, Syracuse will do what it has done in Treanor’s first two seasons as head coach: win its first tournament game. Despite facing a powerful Stony Brook team, SU will erase the question marks about its struggles in big matchups and advance.
Published on May 11, 2024 at 7:07 pm
