Beat writers unanimously predict No. 4 Syracuse will defeat No. 13 Cornell
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No. 4 Syracuse had its five-game winning streak snapped when it lost 14-12 to No. 1 Notre Dame on March 30 in South Bend, Indiana. It was SU’s seventh consecutive defeat to the Fighting Irish.
The Orange trailed 10-5 at halftime and were down by six at one point in the third quarter. Despite a 5-1 performance in the fourth, Joey Spallina and Owen Hiltz were hushed to three combined points and SU didn’t have enough firepower to come from behind.
The loss dropped the Orange to .500 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Though the latter half of their conference slate is split by their next matchup against Ivy League powerhouse No. 13 Cornell. The Big Red are the seventh top-20 team SU has faced in 2024.
Here’s how our beat writers believe No. 4 Syracuse (9-3, 1-1 ACC) will fare versus No. 13 Cornell (5-3, 2-1 Ivy League) Tuesday night in Ithaca, New York:
Zak Wolf (8-4)
The Big Orange
Syracuse 17, Cornell 14
Syracuse’s trip to South Bend wasn’t a success, nor was it a complete failure. A two-goal loss to the reigning national champions and No. 1 team in the country is respectable. If it wasn’t for a 9-of-29 effort at the faceoff X from Mason Kohn and John Mullen it could’ve gone the other way. Gary Gait said Kohn had been under the weather all week and “wasn’t 100%” but pushed through and played anyway.
With Kohn presumably healthy, Syracuse’s faceoff dominance will return. The Orange have been under 50% at the X just three times this season and each time has been against an elite specialist. Cornell’s Marc Psyllos isn’t elite. He’s just 46% on the season with three games going at least 50% at the X. This gives Syracuse an instant advantage. Against subpar faceoff units, Kohn has dominated, resulting in wins for SU.
Both Syracuse and Cornell have two of the most potent offenses in the country, so expect a lot of goals in this one. The Big Red are fourth in the nation with 15.38 goals per game, while Syracuse is seventh with 14.92. Syracuse’s ability to generate more offensive possessions through its faceoff unit will be the difference. It won’t be easy, but Syracuse will avoid a second straight loss.
Cooper Andrews (9-3)
Moving fast in Ithaca
Syracuse 17, Cornell 13
Not too long ago, I got pulled over for speeding in Ithaca, New York. Give me a break, it was only 55 in a 35 and the officer let me off with a warning. Cornell now faces another high-speed visitor from Syracuse. But where only the law could slow me down that fateful evening in Ithaca, nothing will stop SU’s attack versus the Big Red.
Cornell has one of the weakest back ends in Division I even as a consistent top-20 program. It ranks just 69th in efficiency on that side of the ball and has allowed 15-plus goals in three out of eight matchups in 2024. I envision Syracuse’s attack feasting against a suspect Big Red defense.
The Orange have a lot to build on from their loss to Notre Dame. By filtering the offense through Finn Thomson — who finished with a hat trick and a team-best four points — they still went neck-and-neck against the No. 1 team in the country despite Spallina and Hiltz’s quiet afternoons. Syracuse’s attack will only be more diversified versus Cornell’s lowly defensive unit, and SU’s two leading scorers will lead it to a gaudy night on offense.
Anish Vasudevan (10-2)
Lessons from South Bend
Syracuse 14, Cornell 11
For the second-straight trip, the Orange looked all out of sorts at Notre Dame. This time, their stellar faceoff unit turned in their worst outing of the year. Spallina and Hiltz were held relatively silent throughout the afternoon too.
But compared to SU’s 2022 trip to South Bend (a 22-6 loss in which Notre Dame’s Jake Taylor set a program record in goals), this loss wasn’t an embarrassment. Will Mark kept the Fighting Irish’s attack at bay with an over 50% save percentage. In the fourth quarter, Syracuse rattled off five fourth-quarter goals to lose by just two.
I think the Orange will continue their late momentum into this week’s matchup against Cornell. To defeat the Big Red, they need to focus on the touchstones that allowed them to come back against Notre Dame — strong defense and ball movement.
Syracuse’s attack can’t get anything done when it’s one-dimensional by relying on Spallina or Hiltz to score from a ridiculous angle. It needs to win the short-stick matchups and get the ball to Thomson near the crease. With the defense, Billy Dwan and Riley Figueiras need to silence Cornell’s top options in Michael Long and CJ Kirst, just like they did with the Kavanagh brothers.
