No. 6 Syracuse (1-0) takes on Loyola Marymount (0-1) on Sunday night at 7 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium. The Orange is coming off a dominant win against Massachusetts, scoring three goals in the second half to seal the victory. The Lions are coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Colgate, with the goal coming on a penalty kick.

SU has a chance to sweep the Central New York Classic for the third straight year on Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup.

All-time Series: This is the first meeting between the two schools.

The Loyola Marymount Report: The Lions went 9-9 last year in an up-and-down season. A trio of underclassmen led LMU’s attack as then-sophomores Alvaro Madrigal (8 goals), Cruz Corral (4) and Grant Sampson (3) led the team in scoring. They were the only players to score more than one goal during the campaign. The juniors figure to be the focal point of Loyola Marymount’s offense this season.

On the flip side, the Lions have to learn to adjust without graduated goalkeeper Paul Blanchette, who was a two-time West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. In his place is Collin Partee, who just started and played in his first game for LMU after transferring from Utah Valley University. Partee had an inconsistent season last year. He had five shutouts in 16 starts but gave up 16 goals in the other 11 games and his .698 save percentage didn’t qualify for the top 150 marks in the country.

How Syracuse beats Loyola Marymount: Keep putting up shots on goal. The Orange is the stronger and better team. Syracuse got only four shots on goal in the first half against UMass and all four were saved. It got seven on goal in the second half and three of them turned into goals. Against a weaker opponent with an inconsistent goalie, SU should be able to keep the ball on LMU’s side of the field for most of the game.

Stats to Know:

65 — Percent of Lion goals that Madrigal, Corral and Sampson accounted for last year.

6 — Syracuse scored a combined six goals over two games in each of the last two Central New York Classics. Syracuse scored three goals in Friday’s matchup with the Minutemen.

1 — The number of shots on goal that LMU got off against Colgate in its first matchup. Syracuse faced only one shot on goal from UMass.

Player to watch: Alvaro Madrigal, forward, No. 10

Madrigal really improved during his sophomore year, managing eight goals on 52 shots after scoring just twice in 31 attempts his freshman year, giving him a much improved shot percentage. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound forward also more than doubled his shot on goal percentage, moving up from 13.3 percent to 29.6. He managed just three shots, with one on goal, against Colgate. He only played 54 minutes though, so look for him to get more time on the field against a stronger Syracuse team.

Published on August 28, 2016 at 2:23 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer