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Syracuse allowed over 20 goals for the second time this season last Saturday against then-No. 6 Virginia. Its 21-15 loss cemented a five-game losing streak, the Orange’s longest since 1975. And a defeat in its season finale against Notre Dame will give SU its 10th loss of the season, which has never happened in the program’s 106-year history.

Here’s everything you need to know about No. 6 Notre Dame (6-4, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) before it visits Syracuse (4-9, 1-4 ACC) at the Dome on Sunday:

All-time series

Syracuse leads the all-time series 10-8.

Last time they played

Then-No. 18 Syracuse was handed its largest defeat since 1977, when it lost by 16 goals to Hobart. The Orange’s 22-6 loss on April 2 marked the start of their current five-game losing streak and was the final time this season they were ranked. Notre Dame established a 12-0 lead before Syracuse scored its first goal of the game, which came in the sixth minute of the second quarter. By that point, Jake Taylor had scored half of his eventual eight goals and Pat and Chris Kavanagh recorded three points each.

Half of the Fighting Irish’s goals came before the midway point of the second quarter as only nine of Notre Dame’s 31 shots on goal were saved overall. The Orange, on the other hand, took a then-season-low 36 shots and only Tucker Dordevic recorded more than one point.

The Fighting Irish report

Notre Dame enters Sunday’s game on a four-game winning streak, its longest of the season. It sits second in the ACC behind Virginia, which handed it its only conference loss of the season. But the Fighting Irish have handled the three teams below them and rank 27th in Lacrosse Reference’s postseason bracketology.

Pat in undoubtedly Notre Dame’s leading scorer with 49 points, which is 22 more than its second-highest point-scorer — his brother, Chris. Pat ranks seventh nationally in assists per game with 2.90, with his season-high six assists coming against Syracuse.

The Fighting Irish are the most efficient clearing team Syracuse will face all season as Notre Dame ranks third, sitting at 91.3%. UND has also committed the fewest turnovers in the country at 146, though it has only played 10 games. Still, the Fighting Irish are a consistent defensive unit that an up-and-down SU offense — which has only scored more than 15 goals twice — will struggle to get past.

How Syracuse beats the Fighting Irish

In what is likely his final game in a Syracuse uniform, faceoff specialist Jakob Phaup has an opportunity to decide the game’s momentum at the faceoff X. The Fighting Irish have the 53rd-best faceoff winning percentage in the country, which sits below 50%. Meanwhile, the Orange are the 11th-best team at the X this season at 57.6%.

Phaup has won the majority of his faceoffs in all but three games this season, including in April against Notre Dame when he went 20-for-31 at the X. Syracuse can generate the majority of the game’s possessions and a lot of that stems from Phaup. All the Orange need to do is turn that into scoring, which they are certainly more than capable of.

Stat to know: 9.60 goals allowed per game

Notre Dame is one of just 10 teams that have allowed fewer than 10 goals per game. The Fighting Irish’s scoring defense ranks eighth nationally, a category where Syracuse is the ninth-worst in the country — largely due to its 20-plus goals allowed against the Fighting Irish and Virginia.

The Fighting Irish only allowed five goals to North Carolina last week, which was largely due to goalie Liam Entenmann’s 14 saves. He ranks sixth in the nation with a 57.1% save percentage.

Player to watch: Jake Taylor, No. 13, attack

Before Syracuse faced Notre Dame on April 2, Taylor had only played in one game all season, and four other games in a two-year span. Against the Orange, Taylor recorded his first-ever start and scored eight goals. Since then, Taylor has started three straight games, which have rounded out UND’s four-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s game.

During that span, Taylor has recorded 10 goals. He nearly matched his numbers from the Syracuse game against Marquette, scoring five goals in an 18-8 win. The junior has emerged as a surprise secondary option as he has recorded 22 points in just five appearances this season.

Published on April 27, 2022 at 10:38 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu