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Syracuse entered the NCAA Tournament coming off of a lopsided loss to Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. SU’s offense fell silent in the second half as the Eagles ran away with a 15-8 victory, extending the Orange’s losing streak against BC to six.

SU faced a challenging task in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Stony Brook, which had defeated the Orange in overtime on March 5 and entered the contest allowing 7.75 goals per game. Syracuse avenged the prior loss, winning 15-10 in commanding fashion. The Orange took the lead at the 12:20 mark of the first quarter and carried it the rest of the game, finishing with eight different goal scorers in the process.

As SU advances to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, it welcomes Yale, the 2024 Ivy League Champions, to the JMA Wireless Dome Thursday. The Bulldogs have allowed just 5.5 goals per game through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s everything you need to know before No. 3 seed Syracuse (15-5, 8-1 ACC) faces No. 6 seed Yale (17-2, 7-0 Ivy League) in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals:

All-time series

Yale leads 2-1.

Last time they played…

Yale defeated Syracuse 12-7 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, on May 8, 2003. The programs also met in 1998 and 1999, with each team besting the other by one goal.

The Bulldogs report

In the regular season, Yale stormed through Ivy League play with an undefeated 7-0 record, only falling to then-No. 4 Boston College and then-No. 12 Denver in nonconference play. The Bulldogs took home their first Ivy League championship and earned their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007, eking out a 10-9 overtime victory against then-No. 10 Penn in the Ivy League finals.

In the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Yale showed why it allowed the fewest goals in the Ivy League (7.79 goals per game). In the first round, the Bulldogs used a 12-1 run and 11 caused turnovers to propel them past Binghamton 17-4. Two days later, a four-goal performance by Jenna Collignon led Yale to a 9-7 win over Johns Hopkins.

Though during the Bulldogs’ postseason run, each of their four games were at home, where they have gone 12-0 this season. Away from home, Yale has yet to be tested much, facing just three ranked teams and going 1-2 in those matchups.

How SU beats Yale

Yale’s strength over its four postseason games has been its ability to close out games. During the fourth quarters of their last four games, the Bulldogs have outscored opponents 13-3. Behind strong defense and a steady offense, Yale keeps itself in games before accelerating in crunch time.

In the fourth quarter of Syracuse’s last two losses, both to Boston College, a lack of ability to close the game burned it. Over the final frames in those matchups, SU was outscored 9-4. For the Orange to advance to the semifinals, a late slip needs to be avoided.

The recipe that has allowed SU to play at its best has been getting many scorers involved. In ACC Tournament wins over Louisville and Virginia, Syracuse totaled nine different goal scorers in both contests. During the Orange’s latest victory over Stony Brook, they had eight different players tally goals in just the first half, proving that a multitude of scorers brings them success.

Stat to know: 84.2%

Yale has held its opponent to 10 or fewer goals in 16 of 19 games (84.2%) this season. The Bulldogs have used a goalie tandem of Cami Donadio and Laura O’Connor to present different looks to opposing offenses, and it has led to success.

While O’Connor has logged over 270 more minutes, Donadio has received the majority of the minutes in goal during the postseason and leads the Ivy League in save percentage at 47.7%. Yale ranks seventh in the nation in defensive efficiency at 23.8%, per Lacrosse Reference.

Player to watch: Jenna Collignon, attack, No. 14

Collignon has led the Yale offense with 64 goals this season, becoming the first player in program history to reach 60 goals since 2007. To open the Ivy League Tournament, Collignon tallied eight goals against Harvard and then netted four in the title game to earn the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.

After leading the Bulldogs in goals and points each of the last two seasons, Collignon has been named a unanimous first team All-Ivy League selection for the second straight year. Collignon also leads Yale with 71 draw controls.

Published on May 15, 2024 at 9:59 am

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32