#4 Syracuse Takes on #1 Cornell on Long Island

No. 4 SYRACUSE (9-2) vs. No. 1 CORNELL (9-1)
Game Details	Saturday, April 12, 2025 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 4 ET
Game Coverage	Live Coverage: Stats Stream: Corrigan Sports Network Listen: Cuse.com \| ESPN Radio Syracuse \| Learfield IMG College \| Cuse App \| Varsity App \| TuneIn \| WAER Twitter: @CuseMLAX Instagram: @CuseMLAX Facebook: CuseMLAX
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes
Cornell Links Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes

THE GAME
- One last nonconference game awaits the Orange and it's a dozy: No. 4 Syracuse vs. No. 1 Cornell.
- The two teams will clash on Long Island at Mitchel Field in Uniondale for the first-ever regular season neutral site game in series history and just the third meeting outside of Syracuse or Ithaca since 1920.
- Syracuse, the newly minted fourth-ranked team in the country, is coming off a 14-9 win over two-time defending national champion Notre Dame last weekend at the JMA Wireless Dome. Syracuse went spread offense against the Fighting Irish as 10 different players registered at least one point, paced by five from Joey Spallina (4g, 1a) and another four from Owen Hiltz (2g, 2a).
- Cornell is coming off an Ivy League battle last weekend against Brown, a game that was tied 9-9 midway through the fourth quarter before a 4-1 run capped things for the Big Red and a 13-9 win. CJ Kirst posted five points on four goals and one assist while Hugh Kelleher went two goals and two assists.
- Syracuse has protected Dome Turf well this season, improving to 7-1 at home. Syracuse is playing its first neutral site game of the year after playing in four last year between a pair of wins in the regular season and two postseason losses.
- Cornell is also playing its first neutral site game of the year. Syracuse is 2-1 away from home while Cornell is 5-0 on the road this year.
- This Saturday's game is set for a 4 p.m. start at Mitchel Field with Corrigan Sports Network carrying the game.
- Tim Leonard '21 (play-by-play) and Kyle Fetterly '09 (analyst) take to the airwaves on Syracuse Sports Network and TK99/105 locally, Cuse.com, The Varsity App, and TuneIn App, as well as Syracuse University student-radio station WAER.

NEUTRAL SITE RUBBER MATCH
- Syracuse and Cornell will play at a neutral site for just the third time in the previous 107 meetings since 1920.
- The previous two neutral site games came during the NCAA Tournament, the first an 18-15 Cornell win at the 1987 NCAA Semifinals in Piscataway, New Jersey.
- The second-ever neutral site meeting was one Syracuse fans will remember forever: The 2009 NCAA Division I Championship game, punctuated by a Cody Jamieson overtime winner.
- With a win for each team on neutral ground, Saturday's Four vs. One game is a de facto rubber match spread out over 38 years.

THE CORNELL SERIES
- Saturday will be the 108th meeting all-time between the Orange and the Big Red, the second-most games in a series in program history (Hobart - 109)
- Syracuse holds a 66-40-1 all-time lead against its regional rival, though Cornell has won the last two games, both in overtime.
- The Orange are looking for their first win over Cornell since April 9, 2019, a 13-8 win in Syracuse.
- Of the 108 previous meetings, only two have been at a neutral site. Once in Piscataway, New Jersey (1987 NCAA Semifinals) and once in Foxborough, Massachusetts, site of Syracuse's last NCAA Championship in 2009, thanks to a Cody Jamieson OTGWG on a Dan Hardy feed.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...
- Improve Syracuse to 3-1 outside of the Dome this season with a 2-1 true road game record.
- Be the seventh-straight win for Syracuse, the longest run of wins in the Gary Gait Era (2022) and longest stretch of victories since winning nine straight in the heart of the 2017 season.
- Be Syracuse's 67th win all-time against Cornell and snap a two-game skid against the Big Red.
- Log the eighth noncon win of the year for Syracuse, the second-straight year with eight noncon wins in the regular season (excluding ACCT and NCAAT).
- See the Orange win their 11th game all-time against a top-ranked team and the first since beating Notre Dame 11-10 at No. 1 Notre on April 1, 2017.
- Be the fourth-straight neutral site win for Gary Gait during the regular season.
- Be the 958th win in program history, second-most among Division I programs.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- The NCAA released its updated Rankings Percentage Index (RPI) with games through April 6.
- Syracuse checks in with the seventh-best RPI in Division I (0.65060)
- The Orange have faced or will face four of the six teams ahead of them on the RPI: No. 2 Maryland, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 5 Harvard, and No. 6 Notre Dame.
- Per the NCAA, Syracuse has the fourth-strongest schedule in Division I this year as of April 7, with all opponents amassing a 86-46 record, a 65.2 winning percentage.
- The Orange also have the most difficult future schedule as the remaining opponents are a combined 26-6, an .813 winning percentage.
- Four of the five ACC teams have a future opposition percentage in the top 11 (Notre Dame at 30th).

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Players Mentioned

Owen Hiltz

Joey Spallina

Syracuse University Athletics