Predicting The Remainder of Syracuse’s Schedule
Rahill Jaiswal | @RahillJaiswal
11 games into the season and number five Syracuse Women’s lacrosse has found its rhythm. The Orange have won five straight and sit atop the ACC standings with a perfect 5-0 record. However, can the CUSE ride this win streak to the end of the year? Syracuse’s remaining opponents are Louisville, Cornell, Pitt, Clemon, and Boston College. So, let’s break down these matchups.
Starting with Louisville this upcoming Saturday. This is a game Syracuse should win-handedly. The Cardinals have struggled in ACC play. They sit at 2-3 in conference play and have one of the worst defenses in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now, they do have some great players. Attacker Kokoro Nakazawa has tailed the second most points in the ACC this season. However, I don’t think the Cardinal’s defense can handle the Orange’s offense. Expect to see another high-scoring victory for the CUSE.
Syracuse next travels to Cornell. The Big Red has been having a solid season. They sit at 6-3 with a 2-1 conference record. However, I again expect the Orange to get the job done. This is a matchup that SU has historically dominated. SU has a 20-5 record and has won 15 straight. Cornell does have a top-30 defense in the country. The Big Red only gives up 10 goals a game. However, when it played Virginia it gave up 20 goals. You can expect Syracuse to put up a similar goal tally against Cornell on Tuesday, April 2nd.
After the upstate New York clash, Syracuse returns to conference with a matchup against Pitt at CNS High School. The Panthers are another team that has struggled this year. As of right now, they have not won a single game in ACC play. Pitt sits at 0-5 and has lost easily to some of the top teams. It lost by 16 to Boston College and nine to Virginia. The Orange should have its way in this one. I would not be surprised to see another 20-goal game for SU’s explosive offense.
Next up, Clemson on April 13th. Similar to Pitt and Louisville, Clemson has struggled in the conference. These three teams are the bottom three teams in the ACC. Now, the Tigers have shown flashes of good play. They nearly pulled off an upset win over Notre Dame. However, if Syracuse is on its games, it should have no issues. The Tigers struggled against teams that did not fare well against Syracuse. For example North Carolina. The Orange get another comfortable win.
So far you would say Syracuse’s schedule is very favorable. However, the last game is nothing like that. SU travels down to Boston College, a team that has given the Orange all types of issues. This game could have massive implications. If both teams win their conference games before this contest, which is highly possible, this game would decide the ACC regular season champion. Remember, this was the same scenario last year. The Eagles beat the undefeated Orange and got the head-to-head edge when it came to the conference records. The two also met in the NCAA tournament semi-finals. The Eagles won that meeting 8-7. So, does history repeat itself? I think so. I have BC getting by SU. I think that the Eagles are just one of those teams that the Orange can’t take down. If there was any year to do it, it was last year. Boston College is very solid and well-coached. When the dust settles. I have the Eagles beating on the Orange for the ACC regular season title.
