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In the 60th edition of Syracuse’s rivalry with Johns Hopkins, the Blue Jays surged to a 10-7 upset, pushing the Orange out of Inside Lacrosse’s top 20 rankings for the first time since 2019. While Syracuse outshot Johns Hopkins 54-29, the Orange couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. And Harrison Thompson made just seven saves last Sunday, including two periods where he made no saves at all.

But head coach Gary Gait said that it was the defense’s “best game of the year” despite the loss, and Syracuse will look to carry that into Saturday’s matchup against another offensive power in Stony Brook.

Here’s everything you need to know about Stony Brook (5-2, 1-0 America East) before it hosts Syracuse (2-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) on Saturday:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 1-0.

Last time they played

The two teams met for the only time on March 12 of last season. Then-No. 7 Syracuse, led by a 9-0 run between the second and third quarters, emerged to a 17-9 victory. Brendan Curry and Owen Hiltz had a team-high four points each during that span, and both finished with five points.

When Stony Brook ended the Orange’s unanswered goal streak, the Seawolves still trailed 14-5 and were held scoreless for nearly 20 minutes. While they outshot Syracuse 46-45, only half of Stony Brook’s shots were on goal and it finished with a 19.6% shot percentage, its second-worst of 2021.

The Seawolves report

Stony Brook has been without 60% of its offensive production from a season ago as its second, fourth and fifth-best point scorers all graduated. That leaves the Seawolves with less offensive depth to work with; their new top-five point scorers are their only players with double-digit point totals.

But that hasn’t prevented the Seawolves from securing close, yet convincing results so far in 2022. Stony Brook began the season 4-0 and averaged 14.5 goals per game. Then it lost two straight and, like Syracuse, stumbled when it faced ranked opponents. But it only fell to then-No. 4 Rutgers by a goal but were held to just seven scores against then-No. 16 Brown.

How Syracuse beats Stony Brook

The Orange have committed the sixth-fewest turnovers per game in the nation, averaging just over 14. So on paper, that shouldn’t be their main area of improvement. But with SU’s inconsistent defense, such turnovers have occurred against its opponent’s rides — like against then-No. 12 Army where it conceded a season-high 19 turnovers.

Syracuse needs to eliminate the turnovers and let its defense force them against a Stony Brook side that is averaging nearly 17 a game. The Seawolves struggle clearing the ball as well, having failed 23 of their 155 clearances this season. The Orange need to pressure Stony Brook in transition to spark its explosive shooting game.

Player to watch: Dylan Pallonetti, No. 34, attack

Pallonetti shoots the ball more than anyone on Stony Brook’s roster by a landslide. He has taken 76 shots this season, 30 more than Kevin Mack, the Seawolves’ second-biggest shooter. He has also taken more shots than any Syracuse player, although the Orange’s top three shooters — Curry, Tucker Dordevic and Owen Seebold — each have a better shot percentage than Pallonetti’s 25%.

With 30 points, Pallonetti also leads Stony Brook’s scoring with 19 goals and is second with 11 assists through its first seven games. He averages 0.04 fewer points per game than Syracuse’s leading point scorer, Dordevic, ranking 29th nationally. The sophomore is on pace to best last season’s 55 points scored, which was also a team-high.

Stat to know: 57.2%

After just seven games this season, Stony Brook is just two goals away from reaching the 100-goal mark. And much of that is due to its efficiency in front of the net, having directed 57.2% of its shots on goal. Syracuse scored nearly a third of its 87 goals in its season-opener against Holy Cross, where it defeated the Crusaders 28-5. That game, the Orange recorded a season-high 69.4% shots on goal percentage.

But Syracuse’s shots on goal average is well below that mark at 56.5%. The Orange are also coming off of by far their worst performance this season in terms of generating shots on goal, as 21-of-54 shots against Johns Hopkins made it on net. Stony Brook has never shot below 50% this season and have shot over 62% twice, which included a one-goal loss to then-No.4 Rutgers.

Published on March 18, 2022 at 2:44 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu