Struggles Against Ranked Opponents
15th-ranked Syracuse field hockey currently sits at 5-2 on the year heading into the fifth week of the season. However, the five and two records do not tell the whole story. The Orange have struggled against ranked foes to start the year, sporting a 1-2 record against them. Those two losses came to Ohio State and North Carolina, with both score lines finishing 5-0. The Orange have yet to register a goal in its last 120 minutes against a ranked opponent. So what has gone wrong in both losses so far, and who does SU have to face this weekend? Let’s jump into all of that and more.
Starting with the Orange’s loss to the Buckeyes just over two weeks ago, Syracuse were playing defense for nearly the entire game. Ohio State jumped ahead of SU less than 90 seconds into the contest, and from there, it was all Buckeyes. To put into perspective, Syracuse was outshot 8-0 in the first quarter, with OSU also leading in attacking penalty corners 4-0. The Orange simply could not get anything going on offense in this game, partly due to defender Bo van Kempen being out of the lineup.
Just over two weeks later, it was more of the same against the Tar Heels. UNC would score just over seven minutes into the game, and then North Carolina would add four more to win by five. Syracuse was once again outshot, this time 13-6. The loss at Shelton Stadium means that SU has still yet to win in Chapel Hill. The defeat also marks the fifth straight loss for Syracuse at the hands of North Carolina.
If you put those two games together, Syracuse was outshot 24-14, and trailed in penalty corners 11-6. Luckily, the Orange have a chance to change that against another ranked squad this Friday.
What’s next?
Syracuse is headed back to the Tar Heel State this weekend for a couple of ACC matchups. SU is set to play Wake Forest on Friday, before facing ninth-ranked Duke come Sunday. Since joining the ACC all the way back in 2013, Syracuse has never played a pair of conference opponents in the same weekend. The last time the Orange played two conference foes was all the way back in 1994 when SU was in the Big East, taking down Villanova and Georgetown. All time, Syracuse has gone 5-1 in three different conference weekends.
This upcoming weekend presents a perfect opportunity to earn the Orange’s first ACC win of the year and get some revenge from last year. Syracuse fell to Duke on the road last season when it was ranked ninth in the country 4-0. As for Wake Forest, SU lost in heartbreaking fashion at home last year in the regular season final. 2-1 in penalty strokes.
