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After defeating then-No. 9 North Carolina Saturday in a dominant 15-goal win, Syracuse is 4-0 to start Atlantic Coast Conference play. SU first beat then-No. 2 Notre Dame to open its conference slate. Following two dominant victories over unranked Duke and Virginia Tech, the win over the Tar Heels has it riding high at first in the ACC.

“It’s why these kids come and play here at Syracuse for days like today,” SU head coach Kayla Treanor said after Saturday’s win.

But where the Orange have struggled at times in 2024 is in nonconference play, where they have lost 3-of-4 games. SU’s sole win in nonconference play was an 18-7 triumph over then-No. 18 Army. The Orange now face their first unranked, nonconference opponent Tuesday against UAlbany. The Great Danes have fallen to all four ranked opponents they’ve faced this year.

Here’s everything to know about UAlbany (2-6, 1-0 America East Conference) before it faces No. 7 Syracuse (5-3, 4-0 ACC):

All-time series

Syracuse leads 16-0.

Last time they played…

Led by an 11-goal first quarter, the Orange cruised to their fifth straight win to start the 2023 campaign, beating the Great Danes 22-5. Megan Carney ignited SU’s attack from the jump, producing a hat trick just six minutes into the contest.

The Orange rattled off 10 unanswered goals in the opening quarter, propelling them to a 17-goal win in which they never trailed. Kate Mashewske led Syracuse to a 24-5 advantage in the draw circle as Carney, Meaghan Tyrrell and Emma Ward led the way with seven points each.

The Great Danes report

UAlbany entered the season ranked No. 21 in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Poll but quickly fell out after starting the season 0-5.

The Great Danes have played some of the top teams in the nation like then-No. 2 Boston College, then-No. 3 James Madison and then-No. 1 Northwestern, losing each game by eight, nine and 17, respectively.

Sarah Falk, UAlbany’s leading goal-scorer in 2023, transferred to Florida for her graduate season. Second-leading goal-scorer Shonly Wallace graduated and joined the coaching staff. Leading point-getter Katie Pascale is back for her senior season and is averaging 5.4 points per game thus far. Grace McCauley and Bryar Hogg have also stepped into larger roles after helping UAlbany to an American East Tournament Championship in 2023.

The Great Danes have allowed 37 more goals than they’ve scored through eight games, averaging 15.5 goals against per game. After starting the final eight games in her freshman season, Grace Cincebox has started all eight games in 2024 and has a 38.3% save percentage.

Miranda Fournier | Design Editor

How Syracuse beats UAlbany

Syracuse can get its first three-game win streak of the season by simply continuing its offensive dominance. The Orange controlled the game from start to finish against UNC because of their efficient attack.

“We got in a flow right away in the game and then we kind of just kept with it the whole game. But we were aggressive. We were pushing fast break and transition. We didn’t play safe,” Treanor said postgame.

Against a much weaker opponent Tuesday, Syracuse should have no problem.

Along with SU’s offense keeping its foot on the gas, Mashewske will need to stay strong in the draw circle. UAlbany has been shaky on the draw this season, winning the battle in just half of its games. The Orange have won 54% of draw opportunities and should easily continue their success in the circle versus the Great Danes.

Stat to know: 25.3%

UAlbany’s attack is extremely inefficient compared to the field, producing a 25.3% offensive efficiency mark, according to Lacrosse Reference. The percentage ranks 98th out of 120 Division I teams in the nation.

In comparison, Syracuse ranks 13th in the nation with a 36.3% mark. Syracuse’s offense is coming off its best game of the season in which it tallied a season-high 20 goals against UNC. UAlbany could fall behind early and struggle to catch up as the Great Danes average just 10.9 goals per game compared to SU’s 14.9.

Player to watch: Katie Pascale, midfield, No. 23

A former standout at Baldwinsville High School, Pascale has starred in her four years at UAlbany. After increasing her point total each year in her first three seasons, she’s once again leading the Great Danes’ attack in 2024.

Pascale is 27 points ahead of the next closest UAlbany player in points, totaling 43 on 23 goals and 20 assists. She tallied 10 points in UAlbany’s 15-7 win over Colgate but was limited to two versus then-No. 2 Boston College. SU’s defense has often limited top-tier threats throughout the season, holding UNC’s Ashley Humphrey to zero points in its last outing.

Published on March 18, 2024 at 10:01 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky