Syracuse has a chance to win the first national championship in program history when it takes on Northwestern Sunday at 8 p.m. in Stony Brook, N.Y. The second-seeded Wildcats edged the No. 4 seed Orange in their regular-season matchup 11-9 in overtime in the Carrier Dome in February. While SU is looking to capture its first-ever national title, Northwestern is hoping to win its seventh national championship in the last eight years.

The Daily Orange spoke with Josh Walfish, sports editor of The Daily Northwestern, about the Wildcats and their matchup with the Orange.

The Daily Orange: What separates Taylor Thornton from the nation’s other elite defenders?

Josh Walfish:The biggest difference between Taylor Thornton and the other elite defenders in the nation is fitness and speed. Thornton is the fastest and fittest player on the Wildcats and probably in the country and is always playing nearly all 60 minutes of a game. She is able to help on offense, but recover very quickly after a turnover and force a turnover on the other side. 

What would yet another championship mean for this Northwestern program?

JF:Another championship would mean a tremendous amount to Northwestern. The Wildcats lost twice to Florida and many people speculated that maybe their run at the top was over, but a seventh title in eight years would prove that no matter what happens in the regular season, Northwestern will always be a threat in May.

The first time these two teams played, Northwestern killed Syracuse with screens along the crease. How much of a staple of the Wildcat offense has that been this season?

JF:Northwestern loves to slow the game down on offense and run those screens and other cuts to the goal looking for an open shot. Most of the Wildcats’ goals have come from those types of plays and will play a huge role in Sunday’s game.

What is this Northwestern team’s greatest strength?

JF:The team’s greatest strength is Brianne LoManto. The senior goalkeeper’s 7.23 goals against average ranks second in the country and she has made huge saves time after time for Northwestern. In the quarterfinals against Duke and the semifinals versus Maryland, LoManto made a number of saves from point-blank range which helped inspire the Wildcats to put the game out of reach.

What is its greatest weakness?

JF:Northwestern’s biggest weakness is its slow starts. The Wildcats fell behind 11 seconds into their semifinal against Maryland and have trailed in many of their marquee wins this season including earlier in the season at the Carrier Dome. Those slow starts have come back to haunt them against Florida both times this season in which early multi-goal deficits became too much to overcome.

How does Northwestern plan to slow Michelle Tumolo?

JF:The biggest difference between Northwestern now and the team that went to Syracuse in February is defender Kerri Harrington. The sophomore is a talented face guarder who has taken the assignment of face guarding the other team’s best player and has done an extremely good job in that role. I would expect to see Harrington and Tumolo within a foot or two of one another for most of the game and force another Orange player to step up.

dbwilson@syr.edu