No. 5 Syracuse (6-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) faces its first ranked opponent in No. 15 Boston College (4-1,1-0) on Friday night at SU Soccer Stadium. With a win, the Orange will tie the program record set in 1984 for best start to a season (7-0). Before BC beat Duke last weekend, the Eagles downed Hofstra, which SU beat behind a Johannes Pieles header on Tuesday, 2-0.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Friday’s matchup.

All-time series: Boston College leads, 16-11-1

Last time they played: A Ben Polk header off a Liam Callahan corner kick in the 79th minute of the 2015 NCAA tournament quarterfinal sent Syracuse past BC, off to its first College Cup, or national semifinal, in program history. The Orange had redeemed itself after losing to the Eagles a month earlier in the regular season finale. Since losing to BC in that first matchup, SU won six straight, took the ACC title and advanced to the College Cup.

The Boston College report: The Eagles have two primary scoring threats: Maximilian Schulze-Geisthovel and Simon Enstrom. The pair has scored seven of the team’s nine goals this year. A freshman last year, Enstrom was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team, leading the team in goals (nine), game-winners (five) and points (22). His five game winners slated him as 10th in the nation. That duo will take BC as far as it can go and look to keep it in Friday’s game.

How Syracuse beats Boston College: Syracuse moved the ball on Tuesday as well as it has in any game this year, despite scoring only one goal. With its new offensive-heavy lineup powered by Chris Nanco, Kenny Lassiter and Johannes Pieles, the Orange has a deeper, more aggressive attack than it had early on. If Syracuse continues to dominate possession and generate quality shots on goal, it can outscore its first ranked opponent of the year, BC.

Stats to know:

33 — Shots Syracuse tallied against Boston College in last year’s matchups vs. the Eagles. BC totaled just 14.

36 — Percent of Syracuse goals that Johannes Pieles has either scored or assisted on, including Tuesday night’s game winner.

1.80 — Goals per game for Boston College, compared with Syracuse’s 2.33.

Player to watch: Maximilian Schulze-Geisthovel, midfield, No. 12

The senior forward needed only seven shots on goal to tally his team-high four goals. Schulze-Geisthovel, a native of Germany, played his first three seasons of college soccer at Division II St. Leo, near Tampa. The 6-foot-2 190-pounder scored 13 goals last year, including four game winners. As a freshman, he led St. Leo in goals, with 11. Schulze-Geisthovel scored in each of Boston College’s first four games this year.

Published on September 16, 2016 at 1:32 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21