No. 6 Syracuse (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated then-No. 4 Virginia 12-11 on Sunday at Klockner Stadium. The Orange dominated through three quarters, allowing five goals to Virginia’s fourth-ranked offense in the first 45 minutes. After Virginia ripped a 6-1 run through the bulk of the fourth quarter to tie the game, freshman midfielder Tucker Dordevic provided the game-winner for SU.

On Saturday, the Orange welcomes No. 17 Johns Hopkins (2-2) to the Carrier Dome for faceoff at 1 p.m. The Blue Jays enter the game following a 16-9 win over Princeton. Through four games played, JHU and SU are nearly identical in scoring. Both teams average 10 goals allowed per game and 11.5 and 11.75 goals for, respectively.

Here are three storylines to watch for headed into Saturday’s matchup.

Learning to fly

In years past, Johns Hopkins entered seasons with five or six returners from the offense the season prior, senior midfielder Joel Tinney said. In 2018, that wasn’t the case. Tinney, along with senior attack Shack Stanwick and junior attack Kyle Marr, are the top three scorers returning from last season, with the rest of the Hopkins regular offensive starters leaving for graduation.

The Blue Jays inexperience was highlighted by a five-goal output at Loyola Maryland in its second game. JHU rebounded with a stronger showing against No. 9 UNC, scoring 11 goals in the loss, and a win last week over Princeton.

“It was going to be a challenge at the beginning of the year, making sure that guys kind of worked together and we had good chemistry,” Tinney said. “I think coming out of the gates we’ve had good chemistry and now we just have to piece a couple of the other things we are working on.”

Head coach Dave Pietramala said his team was running nine or 10 midfielders early in the season, an uncommon occurrence once the season moves on. The constant line changes help Pietramala and his staff figure out “what goes where” as far as positioning players but limits rhythm among teammates, he said.

As the rotation has thinned, the Blue Jays offensive production has increased behind breakout performances from sophomore attack Cole Williams. With Marr and Stanwick already well established as elite attacks, Williams has burst out in the first four games with a team-high eight goals.

“You have a big strong physical dodger,” Pietramala said. “And then you’ve got to figure out what he can do for you. Maybe more important, he has to figure out where he fits within in the offense and when is it good for him to go and when is it good for him to move the ball along.”

Keeping the pace

Syracuse scored first against both Army and Albany before falling stagnant. Against Albany, Syracuse went more than 35 minutes without scoring, and eventually finished the game with three goals, its lowest mark under 20-year head coach John Desko. After scoring first against Army, the Orange offense stalled for nearly 25 minutes between goals. The scoring eventually heated up behind six-third quarter goals and an eventual triple-overtime victory.

Against UVA, SU scored first and continued through the rest of the game. Syracuse paced the game, encapsulated by a 4-0 run which began near the end of the second quarter and lasted until the beginning of the fourth, a span of more than 20 minutes.

For the first time since its first game of the year against Binghamton, Syracuse won the faceoff battle. It used the added possessions to take its time and not rush like it had in weeks past, Desko said. Syracuse unleashed 43 shots, 27 of which reached cage in large part due to its possession time.

Syracuse limited Virginia faceoff specialist Justin Schwenk, who entered the game winning 67 percent of his faceoffs, to eight conversions on 21 attempts. Virginia, known for a fast paced offense run by head coach Lars Tiffany, an Onondaga Nation native, ranked fourth in the country entering the game. UVA scored six of its 11 goals on possessions immediately following faceoff victories.

When SU settled in, won its faceoffs, and controlled the ball, it was the better team.

Getting long

After struggling at the faceoff X against both Albany and Army, Syracuse has found a solution. Against Virginia and top-10 faceoff specialist Schwenk, SU played two long poles on the wings for faceoffs.

With Brett Kennedy on one side and Austin Fusco on the other, Syracuse went 16-for-27 on faceoffs. The Orange limited Schwenk to 8-for-21 at the faceoff X.

On Saturday, Johns Hopkins enters the Carrier Dome with a top-10 faceoff specialist of its own in Hunter Moreland. Pietramala expects Moreland to get similar treatment to that of Schwenk a week ago.

“It’s something that we practice more than a couple times a week,” Pietramala said. “We spend some time working with the wings, in terms of their ability to disengage and get to an open area so we can get them the ball if hunter is getting pressured.”

Pietramala added that teams often put two long poles on the wing to take the technique out of the faceoff, making it more of a “muck.” If the small sample size holds true, SU will want that scramble for a ground ball against JHU.

Published on March 8, 2018 at 1:42 am

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44