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The final stretch of Syracuse’s regular season went about as poorly as it could’ve. The Orange dropped their final three games, with their latest calamity being a 14-12 loss to then-No. 8 North Carolina. Syracuse’s late-season skid puts its season on the rocks as it heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

SU’s performance against North Carolina left much to be desired. The Orange were wildly inconsistent on both sides of the ball. They allowed attackman Dominic Pietramala to light them up for a career-high six goals, while their offense only tallied eight goals until the final two minutes. That’s when Syracuse nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback. It scored three goals in 41 seconds and had a fourth ruled out when attackman Finn Thomson landed in the goal mouth. Ultimately, Syracuse’s efforts were too little, too late.

Now, the Orange’s NCAA Tournament hopes are in question. Losing a fourth straight game would be costly and could keep them from receiving an at-large bid. To avoid its first four-game losing streak of the season, Syracuse will have to take down top-seeded Notre Dame. In the regular season, the Orange were the only ACC team to defeat the Fighting Irish.

Here’s everything to know about No. 1 seed Notre Dame (8-3, 3-1 ACC) before it takes on No. 4 seed Syracuse (9-5, 2-2 ACC) in the ACC semifinals:

All-time series

Syracuse and Notre Dame are tied at 11-11.

Last time they played …

Syracuse took down then-No. 5 Notre Dame 14-9 on April 5, extending its win streak to six games. The victory marked the peak of SU’s season and was its best since Gary Gait took over in 2021. After falling behind, 3-0, the Orange held the Fighting Irish scoreless for 40 minutes. By the end of the drought, Syracuse led 9-3 — a lead it never relinquished.

Joey Spallina’s four goals were the catalyst for SU’s win. Owen Hiltz, Michael Leo, Wyatt Hottle and Sam English each scored two as well. John Mullen dominated the faceoff X, going 16-of-23, while Jimmy McCool saved 53% of the shots he faced.

Syracuse beat Notre Dame 14-9 three weeks ago, which marked the peak of SU’s season. Now, it’s lost its last three straight games. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

The Fighting Irish report

Syracuse may have inadvertently turned Notre Dame’s season around by destroying it earlier this month. Since then, the Fighting Irish have reeled off three straight wins, defeating Virginia, then-No. 5 North Carolina and Penn. Despite a plus-13 goal differential in those wins, they haven’t come easily.

During its winning streak, ND has only scored six times in the first half. It was trailing by four to UNC, five to Penn and was tied against Virginia, but found a way to claw its way back into those contests. In Notre Dame’s last three games, it outscored opponents by 20 goals in the second half.

The Fighting Irish have heavily relied on Chris Kavanagh to run the show on offense. Thirteen of his team-leading 53 points have come during Notre Dame’s winning run. Kavanagh’s 4.82 points per game is the 10th-best mark in the country. Outside of him, Notre Dame uses its substantial depth. Despite Jake Taylor being the only other player with 30 points, eight others have at least 10. It’s helped ND have the ninth-best scoring offense in the country with 13.82 goals per game.

It also boasts an elite defense, holding teams to 8.55 goals per game, which leads the ACC. Long pole Shawn Lyght is a big reason for that. He’s regarded as one of the best defenders in the country, helping Notre Dame hold opponents to single digits in all but three of its games this season. The only times the Fighting Irish have allowed more than 10 goals have resulted in losses.

How Syracuse beats Notre Dame

Syracuse needs to play a clean game if it wants to take down the Fighting Irish. All season, SU has taken care of the ball, committing the second-fewest turnovers per game in the country. Over the past two games, that’s changed. The Orange coughed up a season-high 18 giveaways versus Duke and had 16 more against North Carolina. Notre Dame only causes eight per game, though its physicality could give Syracuse some trouble.

Playing a clean game will help Syracuse’s offense maintain a rhythm. Prolonged droughts have hampered the Orange during their losing streak. Rather than consistent scoring spread throughout games, their goals have come in short bursts. That needs to change against Notre Dame, or else SU will be eliminated from the ACC Tournament.

Stat to know: 11

Heading into the postseason, Syracuse’s RPI is 11. RPI is a key indicator that the NCAA Selection Committee uses to decide who makes the field. Before SU’s loss to North Carolina, its RPI was eight, which would’ve likely had it in the field. Now, Syracuse is at risk.

The bubble doesn’t have many teams on it. The team closest to Syracuse right now is Michigan, which has an RPI of 14, but SU’s resume is much better. Richmond and Army have RPIs of 10 and 12, respectively, though they’re both the favorites to win their conference tournaments. If they fail to, they’ll be in direct competition with Syracuse for an at-large bid.

Player to watch: Thomas Ricciardelli, goalkeeper, No. 1

Replacing starter Liam Entenmann in net will put a lot of pressure on anyone, but backup Thomas Ricciardelli has done an adequate job. Ricciardelli sat behind Entenmann when he won back-to-back National Championships and was named the NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player in 2023. Learning under Entenmann has allowed for a smooth transition into the starter’s role. Ricciardell ranks 10th in the country in save percentage, denying 57.6% of the shots he’s faced.

The junior’s consistency is his best asset, recording a save percentage below 50% only three times this season. One of which came against Syracuse, where he faced 25 shots on goal and stopped 11. The other was against then-No. 2 Maryland (45%) and ND’s most recent game against Penn (47%), though he only faced 15 shots on goal.

Published on April 30, 2025 at 11:07 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22