Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse extended its losing skid to four games on Saturday with an 11-9 loss to No. 10 Johns Hopkins, dropping the Orange to 3-4. SU scored only three goals in the second half, and despite outshooting the Blue Jays and winning more face-offs, were unable to reverse its losing ways.

Next up for Syracuse is a trip to Long Island to face Hofstra. The Pride sit at 2-4, and are coming off a seven-goal loss at home to Villanova on March 4. Before that, Hofstra had won two straight against St. John’s and LIU after opening the season with three consecutive losses. Last year, the Pride finished 6-9, and Tuesday will be their first game against Syracuse since 2003, when they beat the Orange 8-6 at home.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen when Syracuse travels to face Hofstra on Tuesday night:

Anish Vasudevan (5-2)
Long Islanders like oranges
Syracuse 13, Hofstra 11

This season, it looks like Syracuse will get close to defeating ranked opponents before losses at the faceoff X, turnovers and overall mistakes will continue to hurt it late. The Orange just aren’t experienced enough to fix those issues. They’ll need another year under their belt before they can fight for a top spot in the ACC again.

Last year’s team would’ve had no problems against Hofstra. This year, it might. The Pride have the 14th-best faceoff percentage nationally, winning 58.4% of faceoffs. SU fixed some of its faceoff blunders by moving Jack Fine ahead of Johnny Richiusa though it might still struggle to get possession of the ball. Again, Will Mark and the solidity of Syracuse’s defense will be tested. I think they can live up to that versus a mediocre Hofstra offense which averages 11.00 goals per game.

This matchup might be closer than expected as Hofstra has pushed some talented teams this year, only losing by one score to Navy and Michigan. But this is the time for SU to get back on track before another easy matchup against St. Bonaventure and the greatest rivalry in college lacrosse. Then, the Orange have to say a prayer before every ACC game.

Connor Smith (6-1)
Just what the doctor ordered
Syracuse 16, Hofstra 10

After a typical, yet brutal schedule to start the season, Syracuse finally has a few games to get things back in order after a four-game losing streak. While all of those defeats came against teams ranked outside the top-20, the Orange’s next three opponents — played over an 11-day stretch — are all unranked. First up is Hofstra, which is 2-4 and has losses to Merrimack and Navy. And even with this game being on the road in Long Island, I expect SU to get back on track, with its attack bouncing back after a lowly nine-goal effort against Johns Hopkins on Saturday, and Mark continuing his superb play.

The two biggest issues during this losing streak have been face offs and ground balls, and the Pride are a top-15 team nationally in face-off percentage, a bad omen for Richuisa and the Orange, who are 62nd out of 72 teams in the nation at the X. But Hofstra also averages only 11 goals per game, and posted only eight on its last opponent, Villanova. So even if Syracuse again struggles to win face-offs, I expect its defense to handle the Pride’s attack, and for Mark to face some easier shots than he’s grown accustomed to over recent games. Hofstra’s goalies are only averaging 11 saves per game, too, and that should lead to some easy scores for Joey Spallina, Finn Thomson and Owen Hiltz.

Anthony Alandt (4-3)
Cuse spring break: Long Island edition
Syracuse 17, Hofstra 11

Finally, a break in this grueling schedule. Yes, Syracuse has one of the best recruiting classes in the country headlined by the No. 1 overall recruit Spallina. But asking this young core to take on ranked opponent after ranked opponent — especially ones that have prolific scorers and tremendous goalies — has proven to be a little too much to handle for the Orange. SU can finally relax a bit against the Pride, who average just 11 goals per game despite having six players with at least 10 points thus far. Traveling to Long Island won’t be as bad as it was in 2003, and I expect Syracuse to get back on track and return to .500.

Senior goalie Mac Gates has only collected a 49.6% save percentage this season. So, despite Hofstra’s faceoff team ranking 14th in the country, expect Syracuse’s offense to have more ball-control than it has over the previous four games and fire more shots on goal — hopefully with better accuracy — than seen since the Maryland loss. Head coach Gary Gait has spoken about simply wanting to finish out opportunities and close out games. The Pride serve as a perfect opportunity for the Orange to get back on track and kick start a mini three-game winning streak before heading into the Atlantic Coast Conference stretch run.

Published on March 14, 2023 at 6:17 am