Best-on-Best Showdown Saturday at The Dome

No. 7 SYRACUSE (8-2, 1-0 ACC) vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (5-2, 1-0 ACC)
Game Details	Saturday, April 2, 2025 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 2 ET
Game Coverage	Live Coverage: Stats Television: ACC Network Stream: ACC 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
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THE GAME
- ACC action rolls on for the seventh-ranked Syracuse Orange as its a clash of the top two regular season finishers in the league spring as No. 5 Notre Dame returns to Central New York for the first time since 2023.
- Syracuse is fresh off a 12-10 win against a scrappy Virginia team at Klöckner Stadium last season, surging past the Cavaliers after falling behind 5-1 in the first 10 minutes. The Orange Crush defense locked up Virginia and only surrendered five goals over the final 50 minutes of the game.
- Notre Dame used a 6-0 second quarter to get past Duke last weekend in South Bend for a 14-7 final score. Despite doubling up Duke, the Fighting Irish and Blue Devils were even in the first and third quarters at two goals apiece while Notre Dame took the fourth quarter 4-3.
- Syracuse has protected Dome Turf well this season, bringing a 6-1 home record into Saturday's tilt. The Irish are 2-1 away from South Bend this year.
- This weekend's game is set for a 2 p.m. start at the JMA Wireless Dome. Anish Shroff '04 and All-American midfielder Paul Carcaterra '97 will have the call on ACC Network for the nationally televised 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.

SATURDAY BEST
- It's not Sunday Bests this week. It's Saturday.
- Syracuse and Notre Dame are about as evenly matched as it gets, starting in the national polls where the Orange ranked seventh this week while the Irish were slotted fifth in both the USILA Coaches Poll and Media Poll.
- Both teams tout a top-10 scoring offense: Syracuse averages 15.00 goals per game, Notre Dame at 15.57.
- The Orange have the fourth-best scoring defense in the country, allowing just 8.20 goals per game. The Irish hold teams to 8.43 per outing, the ninth-best in the country.
- Both teams have top-15 man-up units - Syracuse converts at 46.2 percent, the Irish at 46.7.
- The Orange may have the edge on man-down, killing penalties at 70 percent this year with Notre Dame at 64.7.
- Faceoffs should be a treat on Saturday with both teams in the top 10. Syracuse wins at a 60.9 percent clip with the Irish at 60.3 percent, the seventh and eighth best, respectively, in the country.

THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
- The all-time series between Syracuse and Notre Dame is a short but intense run of games.
- Dating back to 2001, Syracuse trails by one game as the Irish hold an 11-10 series lead.
- Notre Dame has won the last seven games, though last season's game in South Bend was a 12-10 decision as the Orange continue to rise.
- Syracuse is an even 4-4 all-time at home against Notre Dame, which is 10-6 in league play against the Orange.
- Syracuse is looking for its first win against Notre Dame since a 10-6 win on March 31, 2018 at home.
- The last meeting at the Dome, a 20-12 Notre Dame decision was closer than the final score indicates; Syracuse led 12-11 two minutes into the fourth quarter, but faceoff struggles saw the Irish score nine unanswered in the final 12 minutes of the game.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...
- Improve Syracuse to 7-1 at home this year.
- Be the sixth-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.
- Tie the all-time series 11-11 dating back to the 2001 campaign.
- Snap a seven-game slide against the Irish and the first win against Notre Dame since 2018.
- See the Orange win their fifth game against an opponent mentioned in the top 20 in seven such games so far this year.
- Be the 957th win in program history, second-most among Division I programs.

CERTIFIED GREAT GUY
- Syracuse defensive coordinator John Odierna as announced as an assistant coach for the Boston Cannons of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) on April 2.
- Over the last two seasons with the Orange, Odierna has helped revitalize the Syracuse defense. Across the 27 games played in 2024 and 2025, the Orange defense allows just 10.00 goals per game, including just 8.20 per game this year, tied for the fourth-best scoring defense in Division I and second in the ACC.

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