Beat writers picking close game for Syracuse-Johns Hopkins on Saturday

No. 6 Syracuse (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 17 Johns Hopkins (2-2) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon. The Orange is coming off a 12-11 win over Virginia. Syracuse’s defense held strong and the offense played with patience to break down the Cavaliers and move to 3-1. The Orange will hope that keeps up against Johns Hopkins.

See what our beat writers think of the matchup.

Charlie DiSturco
Hoppin’ on by
Syracuse 13, Johns Hopkins 9

Syracuse proved last week that it can compete with the best teams in the NCAA. Its defense has been stellar in the first four games of the year, and both the offense and faceoff unit finally found success against Virginia. SU is on a hot streak of Top 10 wins and Johns Hopkins, while a rival and solid team, is just 2-2. JHU may be heating up at the right time but will now have to travel to the Carrier Dome and down a red-hot Syracuse team. If the Orange can play a consistent four quarters of lacrosse, it should have no problem hopping past the Blue Jays.

Matt Liberman
Flightless birds
Syracuse 11 Johns Hopkins 8

Looking at the scoresheets, these two teams are nearly identical. Through four games, SU has scored one more goal than the Blue Jays and both sides have conceded exactly 40 goals. Hopkins has the edge in the faceoff X but also turns the ball over more than Syracuse, as the Blue Jays average 14 turnovers per game. With such even numbers, this game is going to come down the matchup between Hopkins’ attack Shack Stanwick and Nick Mellen. Last year in SU’s 8-7 win, Stanwick recorded just one assist. If Mellen can hold Stanwick in check, expect a substantial win for the Orange.

Josh Schafer
Cardiac Cuse
Syracuse 10 Johns Hopkins 9

Alas, the one-goal streak is alive and well once again for Syracuse. The Orange played 11 one-goal games a season ago and enter this matchup with Johns Hopkins following two one-goal victories. While JHU sits at 2-2 and is near the bottom of Inside Lacrosse’s top 20, head coach Dave Pietramala pointed out on Wednesday his team is quickly growing. It scored 11 against UNC and dismantled Princeton behind a 16-goal showing. The Blue Jays present another Top 10 faceoff matchup for Danny Varello and company, and a week removed from stifling a top five faceoff specialist, SU looks ready for the task. If SU can play four quarters of solid offense and keep up consistent faceoff play as it did against Virginia, the wins will keep coming.