Freshman Sam Swart didn’t know what it was like to lose in college.

The three-game win streak to start the Orange’s schedule was her first glimpse of NCAA play as Syracuse won handily — by margins of 12, six and seven goals, respectively. But she had her eyes set on one particular game on the calendar: Sunday’s matchup with then-No. 11 Virginia.

“As practice goes on, we can really see what’s going on,” Swart said. “But, I think these games this week can really tell us where we’re at.”

The Cavaliers game was the first chance Syracuse had against a top-ranked opponent and on Sunday, Swart had to learn. Following a 17-16 loss to UVA, No. 8 Syracuse (3-1) experienced its first hiccup in what was the beginning of its toughest stretch of the season. To this point, Sunday was the Orange’s first real test on what is the 33rd strongest schedule in the country, per analyticslacrosse.com.

The game in Charlottesville, Virginia, might foreshadow the possible outcome of the Orange’s next four-game stretch. SU faces two consecutive top-ten opponents in No. 4 Florida on Wednesday and No. 5 Maryland this upcoming Sunday. Those are followed by a back-end of the stretch that doesn’t get easier, with the March 16 matchup with Harvard the only buffer between a game four days later against preseason-No. 14 Cornell. The Big Red has received votes for the top-20 every week since it fell out in Week 3’s Inside lacrosse poll.

No players are displeased with the Orange’s early games, as it was able to capture three straight wins while simultaneously gaining its footing following an abbreviated practice schedule due to a lost fall. But, they cautioned that early success isn’t the best indicator of how the team is prepared to handle top competition.

“Seeing teams (is) decent,” Swart said. “But, now I think it’s time to really get serious.”

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Following Syracuse’s win over Oregon in its second game, Nicole Levy wouldn’t guarantee the stellar offensive performances from SU in its first few games would continue. At that point, Syracuse had the top-ranked offense in the nation, a statistical category the Orange still led in as of March 5. But looking ahead then, Levy knew the schedule would continue to get gradually harder.

Against Virginia, Syracuse still had its bright moments. Occasional offensive explosions highlighted the day for the Orange as it put together a strong performance against the Cavaliers’ seventh-ranked scoring defense. Swart had a career performance of her own, scoring four goals to double her previous season total.

But the SU defense struggled to contain the UVA offense, which far outranks Syracuse’s previous opponents at 11th in the nation.

Assistant coach Regy Thorpe noted prior to the Virginia game that being on the road could provide another difficulty for the Orange to overcome against the Cavaliers on Sunday, but said SU was excited for the challenge as it opened the “meat” of its schedule.

“UVA, Florida, Maryland and then bookend with a Harvard,” Thorpe said, “it’s going to be a good measuring stick to see where we really are.”

Despite the relative ease SU had winning its early season matchups, Thorpe said Syracuse was able to make significant progress as a team. Early mistakes helped bolster the film SU could use to accelerate growth. Thorpe said he’s proud of how his team has been making use of film to be sure that the first few games don’t go to waste.

Redshirt-senior midfielder Taylor Gait said that the Orange has always played a “lighter” early season schedule. It hadn’t ever done anything to hinder Syracuse’s performance because in the past, she noted, SU has been a “playoff team.”

“I really think it’s just so we can play and we can learn and we can build as a team early in the season, to be able to play Maryland, to be able to play UNC,” Gait said, “to be prepared for those teams.”

Following the Virginia loss, Syracuse is out of time to rest. SU’s next two opponents bring the same, if not more, firepower than the Cavaliers. That’s just the beginning of what will remain a tough schedule, which still holds eight presently-ranked teams — and three more that received votes — ahead.

But Gait said she feels the Orange is prepared. By playing teams that allow Syracuse to “build the chemistry,” the Orange has garnered the resources to mend mistakes and build on early successes. Virginia was its first, but returning to Syracuse to play top-five Florida will be SU’s next test. After that, the Orange’s schedule begins to take shape and SU feels that there will be a lot to be learned from this stretch.

“The schedule’s going to change here and we’re going to get into the ranked teams,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “The next three-game run here is probably the toughest run in the country.

“For anybody.”

Published on March 5, 2018 at 9:05 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary