#14 Orange Head to Chicago for Matchup with #4 Northwestern

Game Details: Thursday, March 12 | 8:00 p.m. (ET) | Ryan Fieldhouse
Syracuse Tickets: cuse.com/feature/lacrosse-tickets
TV: B1G+
Radio: WJPZ 89.1 FM
Live Coverage: Stats
Syracuse Links: Notes | News | Schedule | Roster
Northwestern Links: Notes | News | Schedule | Roster

No. 14 Syracuse (4-3, 3-2 ACC) continues to take on the nation's top opponents this season, with the No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) next on the docket.

Opening Draw
The Orange are coming off a week in which they outscored a pair of ACC opponents 26-6 to get themselves over .500 overall and in conference play. Syracuse held California and Virginia Tech both to just three goals, the lowest by an Orange foe since February 2020.

Last week's wins extended Syracuse's winning streak to four games, including three over ACC opponents and a win over then-ranked No. 13 Loyola.

Taking on the Best
Syracuse continues to play one of the toughest schedules in the nation with Thursday's matchup coming against the fourth-ranked Wildcats. After the tilt with Northwestern, Syracuse will have taken on each of the top-four teams in this week's IWLCA Top-25 after having started the season with No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Maryland.

Following this week's contest, the Orange will play six of their final eight games against team's ranked in this week's poll.

The 'Cuse Backline
The Syracuse defense has been stout, holding opponents to just 7.6 goals per game, the 13^th best mark in the nation. Over the four-game winning streak, that number has shrunk to just 5.8 goals per game.

The Orange have racked up 11.9 caused turnovers per game, tied for the 10^th best mark in Division I. Leading the way is Izzy Lahah, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week last week. Lahah has compiled 19 caused turnovers while tallying 17 ground balls. Coco Vandiver is close behind with 17 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls.

Offensive Output
Syracuse has scored 13 or more goals in each of their four wins and are winning by an average margin of 7.8 goals during the winning streak.

Molly Guzik is leading the pack, tallying 17 goals and three assists this season. She scored four goals in a game for the second time this season last week, reaching the mark against Virginia Tech.

Close behind are Mackenzie Rich and Ashlee Volpe, who have both racked up six goals and seven assists this season.

Scouting Northwestern
The Wildcats enter this matchup at 5-1 on the season, backed by one of the most potent offenses in the country. Northwestern is averaging 18.3 goals per game — second in the nation — and is outscoring opponents by 10.0 goals per contest, the fourth-best scoring margin nationally.

Leading the charge is Madison Taylor, who has tallied 30 goals and 12 assists through six games. In net, Jenika Cuocco holds down the starting role for the Wildcats with a .531 save percentage.

Northwestern Series History
The Orange and Wildcats meet for the 27^th time in history on Thursday. Northwestern has an 18-8 edge in the all-time series and have won 11 of the 12 matchups in Evanston.

#14 Orange Head to Chicago for Matchup with #4 Northwestern

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Players Mentioned

Molly Guzik

Izzy Lahah

Mackenzie Rich

Coco Vandiver

Ashlee Volpe

Syracuse University Athletics