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Syracuse struggled to establish an early lead against No. 6 Loyola on Tuesday, as the Orange trailed by two goals midway through the second quarter. But the Orange then scored four straight goals to end the half and take a 7-5 lead. In the fourth quarter, two Olivia Adamson goals would be the last goals SU scored.

Loyola’s Jillian Wilson recorded a hat trick in the game’s final 10 minutes and Livy Rosenzweig notched her fourth score of the day to cut SU’s lead to one. With 12 seconds left, the Greyhounds’ Georgia Latch seemingly scored, but she was called with a charge against Katie Goodale. That allowed Syracuse to hold on for its third top 10 win of the season. The Orange will now host Pittsburgh, a program in the midst of its first regular season, on Saturday.

Here’s everything you need to know about Pittsburgh (6-6, 0-5 Atlantic Coast) before it visits No. 4 Syracuse (9-2, 4-0 ACC):

Last time they played:

Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between the two teams.

The Panthers Report:

In 2018, Pittsburgh announced that it would be adding women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport. And after a 2020-21 season that saw the Panthers only play fall scrimmages, the program finally took part in its first regular season this year.

Pitt started the season with three straight nonconference wins. But the winning streak ended when the Panthers played their first ACC opponent in a 15-5 defeat to then-No. 2 North Carolina. By the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels had jumped out to a 13-3 lead. This was the beginning of Pitt’s losing stretch against conference opponents as it has still yet to win a game against an ACC team.

The UNC loss also highlighted the Panthers’ defensive woes, despite goalie Paulina DiFatta averaging 8.58 saves per game, the second most in the conference. But this has come out of necessity because Pitt has allowed more shots than it has taken so far this season.

How Syracuse beats Pitt:

Syracuse’s high-powered attack has once again proven to be one of the best in the nation, with the 11th-best offensive efficiency according to Lacrosse Reference. Last Saturday against Temple — a team that holds a top 50 defensive efficiency — the Orange finished three goals short of tying the single-game record. The Panthers’ backline, led by Therese Pitman and Abby Thorne, struggle at causing turnovers and collecting ground balls. In fact, DiFatta leads Pittsburgh in both of those categories. So there is no doubt the Orange, a team full of offensive weapons, will take advantage of the Panthers’ defenders.

But SU’s goals against average is nearly identical to Pitt’s, as the Orange’s backline has also been prone to mistakes throughout the season. With this in mind, and with the fact that Megan Carney’s status is “day to day,” according to head coach Kayla Treanor, SU’s other top attackers will need to step up.

Against Loyola, Meaghan Tyrrell and Emily Hawryschuk combined for five goals, with Meaghan scoring her two goals in the second quarter. With key depth players like Emma Tyrrell and Adamson scoring as of late, Meaghan and Hawryschuk can help cement the victory if they play well on Saturday.

Stat to know: 16.25 turnovers per game

The Panthers average the fewest points per game in the ACC, and one of the biggest reasons for that is because they turn the ball over more than any other team in the conference. Pitt averages 16.25 turnovers per game, which is one more turnover than the next worst team in Louisville. Graduate student attacker and Syracuse native Madisyn Kittell leads the Panthers with 24 turnovers and seven other Pitt players have at least 10 turnovers through its 12 games.

The Panthers have already finished three games with at least 20 turnovers this season. But what makes this stat more glaring is that two of those games came against Niagara and Canisius, teams that both hold a Lax-ELO rating in the mid 60s.

Player to watch: Paige Petty, attack, No. 26

Ahead of its inaugural season, Pitt picked up Petty as a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech. In four years with the Hokies, Petty was named to the All-ACC First Team in three seasons and was also a three-time IWLCA All-Region pick. Along with these honors, Petty finished as Virginia Tech’s all-time leading goal scorer with 204 goals and she is also tied in career points with VT’s Megan Will with 227.

At Pittsburgh, Petty has continued to be a dominant attacker as she has nine more goals than the next Panther. In the last three games, Petty has scored more than one goal in each, which included a five-goal performance against Binghamton in a 17-11 win.

Published on March 30, 2022 at 10:01 pm

Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com