In the past three weeks, the Syracuse field hockey team has played all six of its games on the road, four of which came against nationally ranked teams. The No. 9 Orange (5-3) dropped three games on the road swing, including a loss in the final game to Princeton on a goal in the final minutes.

Now that the team is home, it doesn’t get much easier. The pressure is coming. It’s coming in the form of a blitzing attack provided by Big East rival Louisville. The likes of which the Orange hasn’t faced yet this season.

SU will face No. 10 Louisville (6-2) on Saturday at J.S. Coyne Stadium in a Big East matchup of Top 10 teams. The Cardinals are riding a three-game winning streak into Syracuse and have scored 13 goals in the past two games. In part due to the challenge Louisville poses, the Orange is glad to be back home for a game as important as this.

‘It’s Big East so it’s a big game of the year, and we’re just really excited to be home and have our family and friends come out and support us,’ senior back Maggie Befort said. ‘It’s pretty tough to be on the road.’

SU head coach Ange Bradley said in addition to the fans’ support, the extra day off that comes with a home game has also had an effect. Bradley said for the first time in nearly a month, her team will not have the added obstacle of playing two teams on consecutive days on the road.

The extra day also gave her more time to prepare for the Cardinals’ fast-paced playing style, which she said is different than what the Orange has seen all year.

‘Louisville plays a very tough, pressing defense, and it’s going to present challenges to our backfield,’ Bradley said. ‘Louisville’s very good in counterattack, and that’s how they draw a lot of their corners and score a lot of their goals, so possession out of the backfield is going to be critical.’

Bradley will need to rely on Befort and her defense to relieve some of that pressure, which has been one aspect of SU’s game that has been superb this season. The defense has allowed only nine shots per game, and sophomore goalkeeper Leann Stiver has not surrendered more than two goals in any game to this point.

Stiver and the SU defense will have a handful to deal with when they step on their home field Saturday. Senior midfielder Nicole Youman has led Louisville’s offensive charge with a Big East-leading 12 goals on the season and will provide as tough a weapon as any for SU’s zone defense to contain. Youman, the reigning Big East Offensive Player of the Week, has attempted three times as many shots as any of her teammates.

‘She’s pretty dominating, so if we shut her down, hopefully we can shut the rest of their offense down,’ Befort said. ‘When she’s through our zone, we’ll make sure we let her know that we know who she is.’

Despite the individual and collective talent on Louisville’s side, Stiver said she will maintain the same consistent mentality she has before any other big game. After nearly shutting out Princeton last week, Stiver believes her confident approach is the best way to prepare for Louisville.

‘It’s not going to be anything different to me,’ Stiver said. ‘I’m going to play to the best of my ability and work toward the shutout and just play my game. We have a big one here because the Big East is pretty much all that matters right now.’

Stiver’s attitude and focus is what Bradley wants to hear, as it represents her team’s ultimate goal for the season. For Bradley, thoughts about the previous losses, expectations and even home field advantage are all secondary to what lies immediately ahead in conference play.

And what lies ahead is speed vs. speed.

‘For me it’s about the Big East, and what I’ve shared with my team is that we’ve (only) earned the right to play 17 games a season,’ Bradley said. ‘Now we have to go earn the right to play in the Big East tournament, and from there you have to earn the right to get into the NCAA tournament. Nobody is in that tournament yet, and Saturday is going to put one team a step closer.’

jakrakow@syr.edu