No. 1 vs. No. 2. With about a month left in the regular season, it doesn’t get much better, especially considering how close the two Syracuse-Notre Dame games were last season. Each game was decided by one goal and another classic could be in store on Saturday. The Orange will travel to South Bend, Indiana to play its first true road game of the year.
Both teams are coming off dominant wins — SU beat Duke 19-7 and the Fighting Irish beat Ohio State 9-0. Both teams have defenses among the top 10 in goals allowed per game. And, both have stars all over the field.
The two big matchups to watch will be each team’s best attack against the other’s best defender: Syracuse’s Kevin Rice against UND’s Matt Landis. In last year’s ACC championship game, Rice was limited to one goal, but dished out six assists. Also in that game, Randy Staats — who is currently out for the foreseeable future — scored five goals. Expect Onondaga Community County transfer Tim Barber to continue to fill in for Staats on the attack.
Notre Dame’s Matt Kavanagh vs. SU’s Brandon Mullins: Kavanagh’s role has changed this season. After leading UND in goals each of the past two years, he’s becoming an even more complete player. And now, he has sidekicks Mikey Wynne and Sergio Perkovic to help carry the offensive load. The emergence of these two players has allowed Notre Dame to become the nation’s second-best and the Fighting Irish will have a chance to become No. 1 with a win over Syracuse.
