Syracuse University’s women’s lacrosse team, ranked No. 8, will travel to Albany on March 24 to play against in-state rival UAlbany at John Fallon Field.
The matchup is significant as Syracuse enters the game with a seven-game winning streak, including four victories over nationally ranked teams. The Orange recently secured a narrow 6-5 win over No. 19 Virginia and have also defeated then-ranked No. 13 Loyola, No. 4 Northwestern, and No. 7 Yale during their current run.
UAlbany is led by head coach Katie Thomson, a former standout for Syracuse who recorded 396 points during her collegiate career and had her No. 21 jersey retired by the Orange. Under Thomson’s leadership over eight seasons, the Great Danes have compiled a record of 70-54.
Defensively, Syracuse has held opponents to just under seven goals per game this season—a mark that ranks fourth-best in the nation while facing what is described as the toughest strength of schedule so far this year. Izzy Lahah has contributed significantly with a team-high of 27 caused turnovers and leads in ground balls as well; she forced four turnovers and collected five ground balls against Virginia last weekend. Coco Vandiver follows closely behind with 23 caused turnovers this season and is approaching the program record for career caused turnovers at Syracuse.
Goalkeeper Daniella Guyette has played an important role for the Orange by posting a .496 save percentage with a total of 66 saves this season—her recent performances include stopping fourteen shots across wins against Yale and Virginia.
On offense, Molly Guzik leads Syracuse with thirty-one points from twenty-six goals and five assists; she was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week as well as USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Division I Player of the Week following her six-goal performance versus Northwestern.
UAlbany comes into Tuesday’s contest on its own four-game winning streak (7-2 overall), averaging more than thirteen goals per game—including scoring sixteen or more in each of its last four games—and remains undefeated at home this season (4-0). Ravan Marsell leads their offense with forty-three points while Paisley Cook tops goal scoring charts for UAlbany with twenty-three goals so far.
This will be the nineteenth meeting between these programs; Syracuse holds an unbeaten record through all previous eighteen matchups.
