No. 4 seed Syracuse (9-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) will take on No. 3 seed Duke (10-6, 2-2) with the ACC championship on the line on Sunday at noon at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The title game is a rematch of the Blue Devils’ 16-15 overtime win on March 26. The Orange enters Sunday having won four of its last five after a three-game losing streak in the middle of the season. SU beat No. 1 seed North Carolina, 10-7 on Friday night. Three different players, Derek DeJoe, Jordan Evans and Nate Solomon, each scored two goals to pace Syracuse. The victory gave the Orange nine wins for the ninth consecutive year.

Here’s everything you need to know before SU plays for a conference title on Sunday.

All-time series: Syracuse leads 9-6

Last time they played: This was the Deemer Class show. The Duke midfielder had seven goals and two assists and helped carry a late comeback after Syracuse had a five-goal lead in the third and a four-goal lead with just 15 minutes left in regulation.

In overtime, Duke won the opening faceoff and scored on its only possession. Chad Cohan caught a pass on the interior of Syracuse’s defense, dodged past three defenders and delivered an underhand bounce shot.

In the loss, Syracuse won just 15-of-34 faceoffs, including the crucial one in overtime.

“That’s a great question,” head coach John Desko said when asked about Williams’ ability to win a game-changing faceoff. “He gets us the ball early and puts us in that position.
“We’ve got to learn to play when we don’t have the ball.”

The Duke report: The Blue Devils’ offense runs through its midfield with All-ACC players Class and Myles Jones leading the way. Class leads the conference in goals per game with 2.8 while Jones is second in the conference with 2.13 assists per game.

And don’t forget about their attack, either. Justin Guterding scored the game-winning goal in an overtime victory over Notre Dame on Friday night in the semifinals. He has scored 38 goals this season and is the benefactor of other players garnering defensive attention. Attack Case Matheis has 23 goals and 27 assists, too, to round out the well-balanced offense.

Faceoff specialist Kyle Rowe has won 63.7 percent of his faceoffs this season and won a staggering 18-of-23 against the Fighting Irish on Friday night. His ability to give the Blue Devils possession after possession helps fuel their high-powered offense.

Duke’s offense averages 13.65 goals per game, which ranks fourth in the country, and has scored in double digits all but three times this season. The Blue Devils also average 8.38 assists per game, which is sixth in the nation.

How Syracuse beats Duke: The biggest thing the Orange has to do is limit Jones and Class. They are the Blue Devils’ two most dynamic offensive players and if either one of them is given even just a little bit of space, they have the ability to burn SU. Class did it in March and Jones has a cannon of a shot that he could unload from 15-plus yards out at any time.

Syracuse has struggled defending midfielders all season (see: Johns Hopkins’ Cody Radziewicz with three goals, Cornell’s Clarke Petterson with three goals, UNC’s Michael Tagliaferri with four goals). But with starting short-stick midfielder Tom Grimm back from injury on Friday, the Orange has a boost in that area. In the first matchup against the Blue Devils, Syracuse put its long pole on Jones and Class made them pay. Whether SU sticks to that plan or changes it up, its’ defensive midfielders will have a tough task either way.

Numbers to know:

15.38 — Average number of turnovers Duke commits per game, which ranks 54th out of 68 Division I teams.

13.65 — Average number of goals per game Duke scores, which ranks fourth in the country.

3 — Syracuse and Duke have played three one-goal games in their last four meetings.

Player to watch: Justin Guterding

With all of the attention on Class and Jones, Guterding has feasted on opportunities right in front of the net. The All-ACC player often gets sometimes lost when mentioning Duke’s lethal threats but his 38 goals and 27 assists are a testament to him capitalizing on chances. Against Syracuse on March 26, Guterding scored three goals on three shots. His efficiency is just another thing that makes him dangerous inside. Against North Carolina on Friday, SU extended out to stop UNC’s shooters and sacrificed the core of its defense, where several Tar Heels goals came from. If the Orange sticks to that strategy, Guterding will have more chances to score.

Published on April 30, 2016 at 6:09 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds