On Saturday, February 7, Syracuse and Siena begin their 2015 season in the Carrier Dome just like they did a year ago. Last season found the Orange winning in a 19-7 rout behind 13 first half goals. While the Orange are going to be very heavy favorites over the Saints, Siena should put up a much better fight this time around.
While Siena’s showing against Syracuse was nothing they want to brag about, the rest of their season had a much better storyline. For the rest of the regular season, they only lost four more games, and two of those were only by one goal. Their close games were highlighted by a quadruple overtime win against Hartford. Their season came to an end in Rhode Island against Bryant in an NCAA tournament first round play-in game. That one goal loss sent them home and Bryant off to Syracuse where the Bulldogs would score one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
Siena’s biggest asset is that they return nearly everyone from that loss to Syracuse last year. Seventy-three percent of the players who saw time in that game are back including all but three starters. Those three include one each from the attack, midfield, and defensive units, so the team is very well balanced and experienced. Their top player is once again Richie Hurley. He finished last season as sixth in the nation for points per game. The only players ahead of him were the two Tewaaraton winners, the MLL rookie of the year, the NCAA Title Game Most Outstanding Player, and Syracuse’s Kevin Rice, so he is certainly in some elite company. It will be early in the season, but he can absolutely do some damage if allowed.
For Syracuse, their returning lineup accounted for 13 of the 19 goals in the 2014 matchup. This game was most memorable for Dylan Donahue who scored eight goals with one assist while Kevin Rice finished with eight assists. Donahue’s eight goals were just one shy of tying a school record for goals in a game while Rice’s eight assists were also one short from tying a school record. Given that this was such a historic output, it would be hard to expect this performance to be replicated once again. What will be interesting is to see how Syracuse manages their midfield and defense throughout the game. If they score enough early that the reserves start making it in, there might also be a glimpse into the Orange’s depth chart at attack, defense, and goalie.
This game should be all Syracuse from start to finish if it were played just being played on paper. Given that it is the first game of the season, there is always the chance that things might be going extremely well for one team and not for the other. No matter what, it’s the start of the college lacrosse season! Be excited!
