Sam Blum: Syracuse 11, Marist 9
Fox-holed

Five of Syracuse’s last seven games have been decided by two goals or less, and Sunday’s similar result will provide the Orange with a wakeup call. Nearly a year to the date after getting upset by Bryant in an embarrassing first-round loss in the NCAA tournament, SU will narrowly avoid the same fate. Led by senior goalkeeper Dave Scarcello and an attack that SU head coach John Desko called a “three-headed monster,” Syracuse will face a test. But it will pass, and advance to a quarterfinal game in Annapolis, Maryland next week.

Connor Grossman: Syracuse 16, Marist 8
Red meat

Syracuse ran through its non-conference opponents this year, winning all eight of its games by an average margin of seven goals. While Marist boasts an impressive enough resume to qualify for the NCAA tournament, they played only one ranked opponent this year (then-No. 13 Brown) and lost in overtime. The Orange ousts the Red Foxes in virtually every statistical category, and Marist’s track record this season indicates it won’t hang around for very long in this one.

Matt Schneidman: Syracuse 13, Marist 9
What does the fox say?

“We’ll keep it relatively close.” And while the Orange has a legitimate shot at a national championship, all SU’s focused on is avenging arguably the worst first-round loss in NCAA tournament history. It won’t get a chance at revenge against Bryant, but Marist is no slouch either. The Red Foxes have five players with over 25 goals compared to Syracuse’s three. They’re allowing less than eight goals per game while SU surrenders more than nine. But Nicky Galasso is scoring the ball as well as he has in his career, Kevin Rice is playing at his peak and Ben Williams, well, is Ben Williams.