Opponent Preview: What to know about No. 4 Stony Brook

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In its first two games under first-year head coach Kayla Treanor, Syracuse continued its winning ways with a 12-9 win over then-no. 13 Stanford and a 23-6 win over Binghamton.

Meaghan Tyrrell scored a combined 11 goals to earn USA Lacrosse Magazine’s National Player of the Week honors. Megan Carney and Emily Hawryschuk both saw their first game action after suffering ACL injuries last season. The duo combined for eight goals in both games combined.

Now, Syracuse will play its highest ranked opponent of the season thus far in No. 4 Stony Brook. The Seawolves made the NCAA tournament last season and advanced to the third round before losing to top seeded North Carolina 14-11.

Here’s what you need to know before No. 3 Syracuse takes on No. 4 Stony Brook:

All time series:

Syracuse leads 3-1.

Last time they played:

The two teams last played in 2021 when then-No. 2 Syracuse beat then-No. 5 Stony Brook 16-6. The Orange sealed the victory early on, outscoring the Seawolves 9-1 in the final 12 minutes of the first half.

Carney led Syracuse with five goals and both Sam Swart and Sierra Cockerille added four goals each. Former goalkeeper Asa Goldstock was also strong in net, recording 11 saves and recovering two ground balls to keep the Seawolves at bay. Senior Siobhan Rafferty led Stony Brook with four of the team’s six goals.

The Seawolves report

Stony Brook has yet to play a game this season but jumped up from sixth to fourth in Inside Lacrosse’s rankings after then-No.4 Northwestern lost 18-9 loss to top-ranked Boston College.

The Seawolves lost both of their top two scorers, Ally Kennedy and Taryn Ohlmiller, in the offseason and will likely rely on Rafferty — their third-best goalscorer in 2021 — to generate their scoring. Kennedy, Rafferty and Ohlmiller scored 52% of Stony Brook’s goals last season. Kennedy also was the team leader in draw controls last season, so the team will turn to junior Charlotte Verhulst, who was second on the team with 47.

How Syracuse beats Stony Brook

Just like it did last season, Syracuse needs to get out to an early start. The Seawolves haven’t played a game yet this season, so the Orange must use their experience to catch Stony Brook flat-footed. SU scored first against both Stanford and Binghamton which set the tone for the rest of the game, and it must do the same against Stony Brook.

With Stony Brook being the best team Syracuse has played all season, the Orange’s duo of Delaney Sweitzer and Kimber Hower must be ready to make key saves against a high-powered Seawolves attack. Against Stanford and Binghamton, Syracuse has only managed 44 and 25 save percentages, respectively. Last season, Goldstock saved 11-of-17 Stony Brook shots on goal. So, if Syracuse has a 25% save percentage against a team like Stony Brook, it could cause trouble for the Orange.

Player to Watch: Siobhan Rafferty, midfield, No. 16

Rafferty, a fifth-year senior, brings the leadership and experience Stony Brook needs with some of its other seniors graduating last season. She started all 19 games for the Seawolves in 2021 and was third on the team in goals. She scored four goals last season against the Orange, and is an accurate, high-volume shooter.

Stat to know: 16.00 goals per game

While Stony Brook hasn’t played a game yet this season, it was top 10 in the country in goals per game in 2021, and with the same system under head coach Joe Spallina, it will most likely look to recreate a similar dynamic offense.

In the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, Stony Brook scored 20 goals and assisted on 15 of them in a 20-8 win over Rutgers. But in the next round against University of North Carolina, the Seawolves fell five goals below its season average and only assisted on three of its 11 goals in a 14-11 loss.