The Orange and the Greyhounds meet in a Top 10 showdown inside the Dome.
You know what they say: no rest for the weary.
That is very much the case at the moment for the Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse team.
Fresh off their impressive, come-from-behind win on Saturday in another Top 10 clash on the road at Virginia, ‘Cuse now returns home to face the undefeated Loyola Greyhounds for their SIXTH Top 10 matchup in 11 games.
This particular matchup is between the now No. 5 Orange and the No. 7 Greyhounds, as of this week’s ILWomen/IWLCA Division I Poll. SU was one of six teams to receive a first place vote this week as the race to the top is as wide open as we’ve seen in years.
‘Cuse and Loyola will meet today in the JMA Dome at 4 PM on ESPN U.
Can’t wait to get back in Dome tomorrow at 4. See you there!
https://t.co/lmgfJAxIxT pic.twitter.com/2KkFAcGf8S
— Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse (@CuseWLAX) March 26, 2024
- All-time series: 25th meeting; Syracuse leads, 19-5
- Last meeting: Syracuse W, 9-7, on March 15, 2023
- Loyola last year: 19-3 overall, 9-0 Patriot; lost to Northwestern, 16-6, in NCAA Quarterfinals
- Loyola this year: 9-0 overall, 4-0 Patriot
Loyola comes into this matchup with a perfect 9-0 record on the season. They haven’t necessarily played a schedule rivaling the difficulty of SU’s, but they have beaten four teams currently ranked in the Top 25 in No. 11 Florida, No. 10 Johns Hopkins, No. 19 Penn State and No. 17 Navy.
Scouting Loyola
Loyola is a team that has strength all over the field.
The Greyhounds rank:
- 12th in the country in scoring offense (15.44 goals per game)
- 11th in the country in scoring defense (8.56 goals against per game)
- 19th in shooting percentage (.476 percent)
- 15th in free position percentage (.532 percent)
- Second in draw control percentage (.662 percent)
- Sixth in draw wins per game (17.44)
There are definitely lots of challenges to consider when facing this team.
They are led by a three-headed monster in Georgia Latch (30G, 18A, 48P, 28DC), Chase Boyle (37G, 9A, 46P, 88DC) and Sydni Black (33G, 12A, 45P, 35DC). The trio has accounted for 72 percent of Loyola’s goals, 60 percent of their assists, 68 percent of their points, 70 percent of their shots, 70 percent of their free position shots and 96 percent of their draw control wins.
So, Caitlin Defliese’s defensive game plan might not be a simple one for this game, but it certainly has a very clear focal point with these three players.
All three have more than 30 goals and 40 points on the season. All three are averaging over 5 points per game, three of only 22 players in the entire country averaging that lofty number. Latch is tied for 7th (5.33 per game), Boyle is tied for 13th (5.11) and Black is tied for 18th (5.00).
Boyle also ranks fourth in the country in draw wins per game (9.78), so Kate Mashewske, who’s now only 18 draw wins away from the SU record, and the ‘Cuse circle players are going to have their hands full going against Loyola’s second-ranked draw control unit.
Another player worth mentioning here is Anna Ruby (9G, 14A, 23P), the Greyhounds fourth-leading scorer behind the big three and their second-leading assister. Anna had a huge game against SU last season, scoring four goals in an otherwise defensive-minded game.
Loyola has a veteran in goal in Lauren Spence, an All-American as a first-time starter last season. She’s having a great follow up this year, starting all nine games and having a .451 save percentage and an 8.72 goals-against average.