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Syracuse is the only Atlantic Coast Conference team outside the Inside Lacrosse top 20 rankings, and it’ll host the second-lowest ranked conference team in the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.

Now ranked No. 11, Duke beat Syracuse 15-14 last season in a nail-biting finish. Syracuse will look to avoid falling to 3-5 on the season when the Blue Devils visit the Carrier Dome at noon.

Here’s what our beat writers predict will happen when the two face off:

Alex Cirino (5-2)
Reality check
Duke 17, Syracuse 13

Syracuse’s losses to No. 1 Maryland and then-No. 2 Virginia proved that it wasn’t ready to handle the best of the best. Then a close win over unranked Hobart and a loss to then-No. 19 Johns Hopkins pushed it out of the rankings for the first time in three years. Now the Orange are the ACC’s only unranked team and face the lowest of the ranked ACC quartet — No. 11 Duke.

Tucker Dordevic single-handedly clawed Syracuse out of a first-quarter stalemate last Saturday at Stony Brook, scoring a career-high six goals. But it’s going to take more than that to handle the Blue Devils. Duke’s scoring offense ranks sixth nationally as it averages 15.64 goals per game, while Syracuse ranks 12th — largely due to the 28-goal season opener against Holy Cross. But its 13 goals allowed per game won’t be enough to hold off the Blue Devils, and it will keep Syracuse outside the rankings for the third straight week.

Roshan Fernandez (5-2)
Not this year
Duke 16, Syracuse 12

Syracuse lost 15-14 in a nail-biting contest to Duke last season. SU had a man-up opportunity and a chance to tie the game with 38 seconds remaining, but it couldn’t convert, and Brendan Curry’s shot with fewer than 10 seconds left flew inches wide right of the net. Stephen Rehfuss had one more chance at the buzzer, but Duke goalie Mike Adler made the save.

This time around, I’m not convinced Syracuse has a better shot. Its defense ranks about the same as last year’s team in terms of efficiency, according to Lacrosse Reference. The Orange are having their worst season since 2007 so far, and I don’t think they have the answer to Duke’s Brennan O’Neill. The attack scored six goals and had three assists for the Blue Devils last week, matching Dordevic’s stat line against Stony Brook. SU’s defense isn’t developed enough to handle O’Neill, in my opinion, and its offense has been everything but consistent lately. I think the Orange slip to 3-5 on the season here.

Anish Vasudevan (5-2)
Upset season
Syracuse 15, Duke 14

Syracuse was on the other end of an upset two weeks ago, losing to unranked Johns Hopkins on the road. But this week, the Orange have their own opportunity to upset the No. 11 Blue Devils to get their season back on track, which could end under .500 for the first time since 2007. Last season, then-No. 4 SU almost pulled the upset against then-No. 2 Duke, falling by one score.

To pull off an upset this year, Syracuse needs to fire on all cylinders offensively and at the faceoff circle. The Orange’s defensive struggles this year might not be solved against the Blue Devils’ stacked offense, but if Jakob Phaup can continue his 58.2% success rate at the X, they should have a chance to put the game away. Phaup struggled against Duke last year, allowing it to go on a 7-0 run after wins at the X. And if Dordevic can get going this year, along with Curry and Owen Seebold, the Blue Devils’ defense might have their work cut out for them in the Carrier Dome.

Published on March 23, 2022 at 8:10 pm