Syracuse lacrosse: Virginia Tech and Cornell previews and game thread

Both Orange teams are hitting the road on this mid-April weekend.

The regular season is starting to wind its way down, with the importance of each and every game being magnified as we focus more and more on postseason resumes. And the Syracuse Orange are no exception.

The No. 7/11 women are getting the day started with a must-win game for the ACC standings on the road at Virginia Tech. Opening draw is set for 12 PM on ACC Network Extra.

The No. 4 men are playing the game of the weekend against the No. 1 team in the country in Cornell in a neutral site battle on Long Island that has massive implications for the entire postseason landscape. The Orange and Big Red will face-off at 4 PM on the Corrigan Sports Network for a fee.

Women vs. Virginia Tech — 12 PM on ACC Network Extra

• All-time series: 18th meeting; Syracuse leads, 16-1
• Last meeting: Syracuse W, 15-5, on March 9, 2024
• Syracuse this season: 9-5 overall, 5-2 ACC
• Virginia Tech this season: 8-7 overall, 2-5 ACC

The Hokies snapped a five-game losing streak with a one-goal win over Coastal Carolina on Wednesday.

For them, it’s pretty simple. This season, they’re 0-6 against ranked competition and 8-1 against everyone else. Unfortunately for them, we hope, the Orange are ranked.

Scouting Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech’s actually having a pretty decent season considering they lost almost all of their major contributors, some of whom were All-American caliber players like Olivia Vergano, to the transfer portal or graduation. They were hit especially hard by the portal last summer, so they’ve done alright for themselves with a winning record this close to the end of the season.

This year’s squad is led by midfielder Mia Pozzi (32G, 14A), a Baldwinsville native who leads the Hokies in points (46), assists (14) and draw controls (38). Fellow midfielder Lauren Render (40G, 5A) is just behind her with 45 points and leads the team with an impressive 40 goals on the season.

Maura O’Malley (15G, 11A) and Kamryn Henson (17G, 4A) play the primary supporting roles as a pair of 20-point scorers.

The Hokies give up a lot of goals with an average of 12.67 goals-against per game, but starting goalie Aaliyah Jones (132SV) is having a strong season with a 46.0 save percentage and 10.2 saves per game in her 13 games.

Men vs. Cornell — 4 PM on Corrigan Sports Network

• All-time series: 108th meeting; Syracuse leads, 66-40-1
• Last meeting: Cornell W, 18-17 (2OT), on April 2, 2024
• Syracuse this season: 9-2 overall, 2-0 ACC
• Cornell this season: 9-1 overall, 4-0 Ivy

The Big Red have an impressive, five-goal win over Princeton and a narrow, one-goal win over Richmond at the top of their resume. Their only blemish is an overtime loss at home to Penn State.

Scouting Cornell

Everything about Cornell begins with their offense, which is the highest-scoring unit in the country at 15.9 goals per game.

They are led, of course, by Tewaaraton front-runner CJ Kirst (49G, 17A), whose in pursuit of not only the top individual honor in the sport but also the career and single-season goals records in Division I history.

He’s averaging 4.9 goals per game, 6.6 points per game and is shooting 50 percent (49-of-98). He’s more or less an unstoppable scoring machine. The ‘Cuse defense will have their say in that regard, but it’s pretty safe to say this is the best offense and the best player in the country, so this is a whole new level of challenge for John Odierna’s boys.

The starting six for Cornell are a nightmare to defend, especially the attack. Flanking Kirst are Ryan Goldstein (18G, 28A) and Michael Long (19G, 17A). The Big Red attack accounts for 54 percent of their goals, 60 percent of their assists and 56 percent of their points, so this should be quite the showdown with Billy Dwan, Riley Figueiras and Michael Grace.

Their midfield is very productive as well led by Willem Firth (18G, 9A), Hugh Kelleher (12G, 7A) and Andrew Dalton (9G, 5A), so the rope unit will have their hands full, too.

The face-off battle will be massive to see who can supply their high-scoring offense with more possessions off the restart. Jack Cascadden (59.8 percent) is having an excellent season and will be extra motivated being home on the Island. He and Johnny Mullen will do critical battle in this one.

Goalie Wyatt Knust (121SV) has started every game and is having an outstanding season between the pipes with a 9.59 GAA and a 56.0 save percentage.