Syracuse lacrosse gameday: Clemson and North Carolina preview and game thread (2024)

It’s the penultimate games of the regular season for the Syracuse Orange lacrosse teams, and they carry with them big postseason implications for both the women and men.

The women, now up to No. 2 in the latest ILWomen/IWLCA Division I Poll after their eighth straight win last weekend, are hitting the road for a meeting with the Clemson Tigers as they look to remain perfect in ACC play. Opening draw is 12 PM on ACC Network Extra.

Meanwhile, the men haven’t played in 11 days and their back-to-back losses have dropped them to No. 7 in the latest IL Division I Media Poll. They’re traveling to Chapel Hill for a hugely important meeting with the North Carolina Tar Heels at 1 PM on ACC Network Extra.

And they’re going to have to do so without the services of offensive coordinator Pat March, who (by NCAA rules) is suspended for this game following his ejection from the Cornell game. At least this time around, the team’s had a week and a half to be ready for the fact that they’ll be one man down on the sideline.

Women vs. Clemson

• All-time series: 2nd meeting; Syracuse leads, 1-0
• Last meeting: Syracuse W, 19-10, on April 8, 2023
• Clemson last year: 12-6 overall, 4-6 ACC
• Clemson this year: 9-5 overall, 2-5 ACC

Now in their second year of existence as a Division I program, Clemson has made headlines for their facilities while feasting on weak non-conference schedules but struggling in the ACC. The Tigers have yet to lose a non-conference game at 15-0, while their ACC record is 6-11.

They have wins over Duke and Virginia Tech in conference, but are coming off a crush job at the hands of Boston College last weekend when the Eagles beat them, 16-4.

Scouting Clemson

Clemson ranks 15th in the country in scoring offense (15.36 goals per game) and 28th in the country in scoring defense (9.93 goals-against per game).

What makes their rankings particularly difficult to decipher is how much they’ve beaten up on the non-conference portion of their schedule. That’s probably the case for a lot of ACC teams, but it seems especially true for the Tigers.

They’ve outscored their non-conference opponents 129-45 (+84), while they’ve been outscored 86-94 (-8) in ACC games. That’s an average of 18.4 goals per game OOC against 12.3 in-conference, and 6.4 goals-against OOC against 13.4 goals-against in-conference.

Graduate transfer attacker Claire Bockstie (37G, 15A, 52P) is their leading scorer by far, leading the team in goals and points. Freshman midfielder Natalie Shurtleff (15G, 18A, 33P) leads them in assists and is second in points, while Regan Byrne (27G, 3A, 30P), Kayla Macleod (27G, 2A, 29P) and Emma Tilson (22G, 1A, 23P) all join as 20-goal scorers.

They have a good draw unit that ranks 12th nationally in draw control percentage (60.3) and 11th in draw controls per game (16.93).

Maryland transfer goalie Emily Lamparter (.483 SV%, 10.45 GAA) has started all 14 games and is having a great season. She ranks second in the ACC with her .483 save percentage and third in the ACC with her 7.93 saves per game.

Men vs. North Carolina

• All-time series: 32nd meeting; Syracuse leads, 19-12
• Last meeting: Syracuse W, 15-14, on April 15, 2023
• UNC last year: 7-7 overall, 1-5 ACC
• UNC this year: 6-5 overall, 0-1 ACC

The Tar Heels have had a mediocre season at only one game over .500. They have a win over Penn that came just two days after the Quakers upset of Duke, and other than that their resume isn’t much to look at.

They’ve lost three games in a row, including a home upset to High Point and an eight-goal loss to Virginia in their last game.

Scouting North Carolina

North Carolina ranks 19th in the country in scoring offense (13.00 goals per game) and tied for 17th in the country in scoring defense (10.00 goals-against per game).

They’re an excellent FO team, ranking second in the country in face-off winning percentage (.633), and they’re also sixth in the country in ground balls per game (35.73).

Their offense revolves around the three players who make up their starting attack, headlined by superstar freshman Owen Duffy (29G, 20A, 49P). Graduate student Logan McGovern (19G, 24A, 43P) leads the team in assists, and redshirt freshman Dominic Pietramala (26G, 10A, 36P) rounds out the unit.

The attack has accounted for 51.7 percent of the team’s goals, 60.7 percent of the team’s assists, 55.2 percent of the team’s points and 51.8 percent of the team’s shots. So, I think it’s fair to say that a significant portion of the defensive game plan will be focused on slowing their attackers.

After the attack, the scoring drops all the way down to James Matan (10G, 3A, 13P) at 13 points and Ryan Levy (7G, 3A, 10P) and Johnny Schwarz (5G, 5A, 10P) with 10 each. Lance Tillman (7G, 2A, 9P) has nine.

The face-off matchup is going to be a fascinating battle of two teams with two-headed monsters on restarts. The Tar Heels rank second in the country as a unit, while the Orange are not far behind at seventh in the country.

Brady Wambach (114-of-182, .626) and Andrew Tyeryar (64-of-102, .627) are nearly evenly split in their success, and they make for a lethal duo for any team to come up against.

Goalie Collin Krieg (.500 SV%, 9.99 GAA) is a veteran whose started every game and is putting up solid numbers with a .500 save percentage, a 9.99 goals-against average and 9 saves per game.