Beat writers unanimously predict No. 7 Syracuse beats slumping North Carolina

No. 7 Syracuse (6-4, 3-0 Atlantic Coast) struggled to score on Tuesday in Ithaca in a 13-8 loss to No. 9 Cornell. The Orange will look to bounce back on Saturday against North Carolina (6-6, 0-2). The Tar Heels have lost six games in a row heading into the meeting in the Carrier Dome.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen.

Charlie DiSturco
Unlike basketball…
Syracuse 12, North Carolina 9

Syracuse seemed to have found a groove before its offense struggled mightily in a loss to Cornell on Tuesday night. Though the Orange has a 2-4 record in nonconference play, it is undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference with strong wins over Top 10 teams in Duke and Notre Dame.

The hardest conference games are behind SU, as it faces a North Carolina team plagued by injuries and in the middle of a six-game skid. Syracuse’s defense has yet to slow down and Saturday will be no different, as the Orange will finish with a perfect ACC record yet again.

Matt Liberman
UNC needs a doctor
Syracuse 13, North Carolina 10

Few teams have been plagued by injuries as badly as the Tar Heels have been this season. Carolina has lost 13 players, including its starting goalie, top defender and arguably the team’s top midfielder, Justin Anderson. North Carolina opened the season 6-0 before losing six straight as the injuries piled on.

Entering Saturday’s contest, UNC will be without 13 players. Plus, the Tar Heels have just one win on the road. Yes, Syracuse struggled offensively against Cornell, but that was because the Big Red’s top-ranked offense dominated possession. UNC will struggle to follow suit, and Syracuse will finish the regular season undefeated in ACC play for the second straight season.

Josh Schafer
Anotha one
Syracuse 12 North Carolina 8

Another year brings another undefeated regular season conference record for Syracuse. North Carolina has lost six straight games and there’s no reason to believe UNC won’t lose a seventh. As Matt said, UNC is without 13 players entering Saturday’s game, so there doesn’t appear to be a solution to its problem. The Tar Heels have scored more as of late, including double digits against both Duke and Virginia. But without a dominant faceoff man, North Carolina won’t control the game teams need to against Syracuse to win.