After dominating Georgetown in the rain on Sunday, No. 5 seed Syracuse (16-4, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) will face No. 4 seed Northwestern (15-4, 5-1 Big Ten) for a trip to the national semifinals. The Wildcats scored eight unanswered goals in their second-round matchup against Notre Dame, ultimately winning 13-10. The two will face off at 2 p.m. in Evanston, Illinois in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.

Here’s what our beat writers predict to happen.

Eric Black
Syracuse 15, Northwestern 13
Wildcaught

Northwestern has won six straight games and boasts the best offense in the country. The Wildcats just beat No. 1 Maryland and feature a Tewaaraton finalist. On top of all that, Saturday’s game is in Evanston. But Syracuse is better. The Orange have shown that all season, including in the team’s first matchup this year when SU took down Northwestern in overtime. After dropping five games by one goal last season, this year they’ve flipped the script and won five one-goal games. In poor conditions on Sunday, Syracuse showed that its offense will take more than rain to slow down, and against the Wildcats’ subpar defense, SU should explode. Sure, Northwestern has Selena Lasota, but Syracuse has Emily Hawryschuk. The latter said “this is the team that’s gonna do it,” and a win Saturday is the first step in doing so.

KJ Edelman
Syracuse 13, Northwestern 12
Deep dish dub

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry that Saturday’s outdoor game might be another overcast. But Syracuse just showed its offense won’t die in the rain. Northwestern’s attack took its foot off the pedal in the second half of its last matchup and has more in store. I’m more interested in defense in this quarterfinal game, though. Emily Hawryschuk couldn’t help but laugh when recalling Nell Copeland’s face-guard tactics against her in February. That game ended in a turnover on the opening possession of overtime and a Hawryschuk game-winner. I expect something similar on Saturday — coming down to a final shot. Syracuse has shown with its top-notch backline that discrepancies on the draw area are a small formality. Hawryschuk will dominate, and if she’s face-guarded, the likes of Megan Carney, Nicole Levy and Sam Swart will lead the Orange to their first final four since 2016.

Kaci Wasilewski
Northwestern 15, Syracuse 14
The North Remembers

Syracuse’s 15-14 win over then-No. 4 Northwestern was its first win of the season that showed SU wasn’t the 9-10 Orange of 2018. After a back-and-forth game, an Emily Hawryschuk goal in overtime lifted SU to its first ranked win of the season. That being said, Northwestern is on a six-game win streak that includes wins over Notre Dame, Michigan and top-ranked Maryland. Northwestern is playing its best lacrosse right now, especially with its top-ranked offense. For Syracuse to win, its defense is going to have to be better than its best this season. That being said, I think it’s going to be a close game that will come down to the wire, but this time, Northwestern is coming out on top.

Published on May 18, 2019 at 12:25 am