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No. 6 Syracuse had a statement win Wednesday, defeating No. 4 Duke 10-4. The Orange held the highest-scoring offense in the country to its lowest total in over a decade.

The win over the Blue Devils came after a win over then-No. 2 Johns Hopkins in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a 14-6 win over then-No. 20 Delaware in Chantilly, Virginia.

Syracuse looks to make it four straight wins with its first true road game of the season against Hobart. The Orange will travel an hour west to Geneva, New York, for the first time since 2019 against a Hobart team that hasn’t won two games in a row all season.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen when No. 6 Syracuse (8-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) takes on Hobart (3-4, Atlantic 10 Conference):

Zak Wolf (6-4)
S(no)w problem
Syracuse 14, Hobart 4

Syracuse put on a defensive masterclass against Duke during the week, holding the nation’s leading offense to just four goals — its lowest-scoring total since 2012. The Orange held reigning Tewaaraton winner Brennan O’Neill to one goal on 1-for-11 shooting. So if SU kept Duke quiet, it should have no issue dealing with a below-average Hobart team this weekend.

Snowy conditions are less than ideal, but the sloppy weather will only contribute to Syracuse’s stout defense. The Orange have let up just 10 goals in the past two games, led by Will Mark’s combined 31 saves and 76% save percentage. But I don’t think Hobart will test Mark as much due to coverage from long poles Riley Figueiras and Billy Dwan and Syracuse’s talent on the back end will shine through.

On the offensive end, expect Joey Spallina to have a big day. Although he only had two assists against the Blue Devils, he didn’t need to take over with SU’s defense playing so strong. Led by Spallina, Syracuse will simply have too many options for Hobart to contain. We’ve seen repeatedly this season that if one of the Orange’s top options is contained, then someone else steps up. The snow could make for a tight first half, but like their previous two outings expect the Orange to separate in the second half.

Cooper Andrews (7-3)
The ultimate jinx
Syracuse 13, Hobart 6

A week ago, I brought up my stretch of cold takes while trying to predict the performance of Spallina. While I was finally proven right in that edition of our beat writer’s predictions, my latest attempt at foreseeing the future transpired in my worst outcome yet.

I believed that John Odierna’s new-look defense hadn’t turned enough of a corner to slow down Duke, the No. 1 offense in the country. Naturally, Syracuse delivered its best defensive performance of the season — and arguably, of the Gary Gait era — by holding the Blue Devils to just four goals. So, what will I get blatantly wrong next?

The answer will have to wait because SU’s next contest is an easy one to pick. The Orange have shown that they’re long past the point of being worried about suffering an upset to a bottom feeder. Hobart may bring some extra fuel in the 109th edition of the rivalry. Though a defense that ranks 66th in efficiency and an offense that ranks 50th — per Lacrosse Reference — won’t bode well against an SU team that’s top-10 on both sides of the ball.

I may have shown that I’m the ultimate jinx. But my curse won’t be present in what should be a Syracuse thrashing over the Statesmen.

Anish Vasudevan (9-1)
Riding high
Syracuse 12, Hobart 5

Who would’ve thought we’d be here? After rattling off back-to-back-to-back ranked wins for the first time since 2019, why shouldn’t Syracuse just keep the ball rolling? This isn’t the Hobart team that scared the Orange two years ago and only lost by two goals. This also isn’t the Syracuse team that let that happen.

The Statesmen have been absolutely horrific against ranked opponents this season, most recently giving up 23 goals to Cornell. I don’t think SU is going to get close to scoring that many goals because of the snowy, gloomy weather predicted this Saturday. But it’s going to build a comfortable lead to hopefully put in some back-ups in the fourth quarter and give its main guys a rest before the tough stretch to end the season.

The one place where the Statesmen might control the game is at the faceoff X. Currently, Hobart has the seventh-best faceoff percentage in the country with a 61.6% win rate. Adam Shea is the go-to guy with a 59.7% mark at the X, though his numbers have been boosted against weak nonconference teams. Mason Kohn and John Mullen are coming off losing eight straight to Duke’s Jake Naso. They can’t miss a step against Shea, otherwise this game will become a lot closer than it needs to.

Published on March 22, 2024 at 7:55 pm