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Syracuse captured the Kraus-Simmons Trophy last Sunday against an unranked Hobart team, but it wasn’t the lopsided game the Orange expected, as they won by just two. Four days beforehand, the Orange were dominated by No. 12 Army and as a result, dropped further down the rankings to No. 17.

Now, Syracuse heads on the road to face Johns Hopkins, who have similarly struggled to handle the nation’s best opponents and have slipped completely out of the rankings. Like the Orange, the Blue Jays average double-digit goals per game, making a win in the first of SU’s two-game road trip contingent on its inconsistent defense.

Here’s what our beat writers expect when No. 17 Syracuse (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) visits Johns Hopkins (3-3) on Sunday:

Alex Cirino (4-1)
Climbing the rankings
Syracuse 17, Johns Hopkins 14

After a potential season-saving win over unranked Hobart, Syracuse heads on the road in search of a similarly inconsistent opponent in Johns Hopkins. The Orange’s three-game losing streak to teams ranked above them humbled SU. A back-and-forth victory in the Kraus-Simmons Trophy game gave it the necessary confidence and awareness of where it stands in terms of the rest of its schedule.

Most of that confidence has come on the offensive front as the Orange still possess a top five scoring offense. They face a Blue Jays side that has since been bumped out of Inside Lacrosse’s rankings and similarly struggle against ranked opponents. While both sides struggle defensively, it’s Syracuse’s offense, which has managed double-digit goals in every game this season, that will carry it to its first winning streak of the season, a much-needed win to stay among the country’s elite programs.

Roshan Fernandez (4-1)
A fork in the road
Syracuse 14, Johns Hopkins 13

Syracuse has gotten back to 2-3 on the season and has a very important matchup on Sunday against Johns Hopkins as defensive coordinator Dave Pietramala returns to his alma mater. The Blue Jays managed just eight goals against No. 2 Virginia, eight against Georgetown and 10 against UNC. Syracuse’s defense should be capable of containing them. SU should get back to .500 here and then has a matchup with unranked Stony Brook. It should help put the Orange back on track before they arrive at a very challenging ACC schedule that features No. 8 Duke and No. 9 Notre Dame in back-to-back weeks.

But, as Inside Lacrosse’s Terry Foy pointed out, if Syracuse does drop this game and falls to 2-4 on the year, the Orange are in for a very challenging rest of the season. Syracuse needs to get back to .500 before it hits the bulk of its conference games, and it’s running out of straightforward opportunities to do so.

Anish Vasudevan (4-1)
Old foes duel again
Syracuse 17, Johns Hopkins 15

Former head coach Roy Simmons Jr. said Syracuse’s rivalry against Hobart was one of the most storied in all of lacrosse. But he added that in the last 30 years, starting with the Orange’s matchups against in the late 1980s starring Gary Gait and Pietramala, Johns Hopkins has become a rival, too. But both programs have been on the decline since the late 2000s, with neither winning a national championship since 2009. This all culminates into this year’s matchup, where SU and JHU have had up-and-down seasons.

Syracuse has shown that it’s been able to dominate against weaker opponents, except when it allowed Army to successfully launch a comeback. The Orange can easily bring their momentum from defeating Hobart, needing Tucker Dordevic and Brendan Curry to continue their play against the Blue Jays. And defensively, Pietramala should have a solid plan as he returns to his alma mater, stopping the Orange from dropping to 2-4.

Published on March 12, 2022 at 4:23 pm