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Syracuse is coming off a win over Louisville in which 10 different players scored for the third time this season. Meaghan Tyrrell scored or assisted on each of the first five scores for Syracuse, and the Orange took a commanding 7-1 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Draw-control specialist Kate Mashewske was recently ruled out for the season, but with Olivia Adamson stepping in, Syracuse has won the draw discrepancy in both of the last two games. SU won 15-9 against the Cardinals, and Adamson collected six on her own.

The Orange’s undefeated season continues as No. 1 Syracuse (11-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) takes on Cornell (6-3, 2-1 Ivy League) in a state rivalry game on Tuesday. Here’s everything to know about the Big Red ahead of the matchup:

All-time series:

Syracuse leads, 19-5.

Last time they played

Although SU won 20-9 against Cornell last April, it was far from a blowout at the start. Cornell went up 1-0 on an unassisted score from Amanda Cramer at 9:34 in the first. But less than a minute later, SU tied it up with Payton Rowley’s third goal of the season.

Emily Hawryschuk scored the next two Syracuse goals over the following four minutes, but the Big Red went on a 5-0 run from the back end of the first to 7:48 remaining in the second. Then-No. 4 SU was then down 6-3 to unranked Cornell.

But again, Rowley started the scoring for the Orange, scoring her fourth of the year and doubling her season total on an assist from Adamson. After that, it was Syracuse who went on a scoring run, netting nine unanswered from 4:10 left in the second to the 2:16 mark in the third. That made it 12-6 Syracuse going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, the Orange put up points and locked down defensively. They scored eight straight goals before Cornell netted one in the final two minutes of the period. But despite Syracuse more than doubling Cornell’s score, the Big Red were in this game.

Stephanie Zaso | Digital Design Director

The Big Red report

Cornell has lost twice to teams ranked No. 17 this season, Princeton and Stanford, along with Binghamton. It hasn’t beat a ranked team this year — meanwhile, SU beat Binghamton 17-10 and is 6-0 against top-25 teams.

The Big Red rank 56th in the nation in points per game, while SU ranks third. But Cornell has outperformed its opponents in almost every category. It has 20 more goals, two more assists, 47 more shots and a higher shot-percentage than opponents this season.

That being said, they rank third in the nation in free-position percentage, and Syracuse commits 25.5 fouls per game, which is 111th in the nation. Cornell has scored a whopping 27% of its goals on free-position shots. Syracuse, on the other hand, relies more on assists than capitalizing on foul shots, as just 17 of its 180 goals have come on free-position opportunities.

How Syracuse beats Cornell

The Orange just need to stick to their identity to beat their in-state rival. Since SU lacrosse began in 1998, the two teams have played every year, other than 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Syracuse has come out on top more often than not, not having lost to the Big Red since 2006.

But this Cornell team features a variety of scorers, with three players averaging over two goals per game. Katie Castiello leads the team with 26 goals, while her and Kramer are tied at the top with 33 points. Josie Vogel and Maggie Pons aren’t far behind with 25 and 24 points, respectively.

Syracuse’s shot on goal percentage is almost .100 higher than Cornell’s, illustrating its weakness in penetrating the defensive zone. Syracuse must do two things to win this game: continue to fire shots on goal at the crease and avoid fouling.

Stat to know: .604

Cornell’s .604 free-position shot percentage ranks third in the country, while Syracuse commits the 10th-most fouls. That’s a clear pitfall that the Orange will have to avoid being trapped in. Cornell will come out aggressively, looking to agitate the Orange defense into playing overly physical. This shouldn’t be the difference-maker in the game, but it’s certainly worth noting because SU often attacks the ball defensively to cause turnovers.

Player to watch: No. 17 Amanda Cramer

Cramer is a senior attack with high accuracy, leading Cornell in points, assists and free-position shots. She also ranks second on the team in shot on goal percentage with .735, which is significantly higher than the team average of .677. Cramer makes an impact on multiple aspects of the game, including the draw, and will almost certainly be featured on Tuesday because of her ability to draw fouls.

Published on March 28, 2023 at 12:06 am

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu