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Syracuse climbed back to .500 on the season with an upset win over Duke last weekend. Now, the No. 18 Orange will travel to South Bend, Indiana, to face the No. 15 Fighting Irish at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Orange are now on a two-game winning streak after losing four of their previous five games. 

Here’s what our beat writers predict will happen:

Alex Cirino (5-3)
Keep the upsets rolling
Syracuse 16, Notre Dame 11

Syracuse finally managed to pick up its first win over a ranked opponent in a four-goal win over then-No. 11 Duke. It never trailed and held the Blue Devils’ leading scorer Brennan O’Neill to just three points. Now the Orange just need to check off another important feat: securing their first ranked road win. And they will get that victory when they travel to South Bend on Saturday.

Notre Dame is now the ACC’s only team below .500 and, like SU, has struggled to handle the country’s top teams. It has one ranked win over then-No. 15 Michigan, but other than that, the Fighting Irish have just a 24-2 blowout win over Detroit Mercy. While ND allows over two fewer goals per game than Syracuse, the Orange average nearly two more goals on the attack. And with Dordevic having gone five games with at least five goals this season, expect him to lead SU to its third consecutive victory.

Roshan Fernandez (5-3)
Doing it again?
Syracuse 13, Notre Dame 12

Last year, Notre Dame blew Syracuse out of the water in what turned into a 22-8 defeat in South Bend. Pat Kavanagh had five goals and five assists just weeks after he notched nine points in the first contest against SU. Syracuse wasn’t even close.

I don’t think this Notre Dame team is the same. Yes, Kavanagh is still on it, and yes, I think he’ll post another impressive stat line against Syracuse. But the Fighting Irish’s offense managed just eight goals against Virginia, just 12 in a win over Michigan and so on.

I was impressed with what I saw from Syracuse against Duke. It was the most complete outing of the season — by far — with a very strong defensive showing and Dordevic’s best game of the year. The biggest question is if the Orange can replicate that performance again.

Anish Vasudevan (6-2)
Different year, same result
Notre Dame 16, Syracuse 11

Syracuse hasn’t beaten Notre Dame since 2018. Last season, the Orange were blown out by 14 goals, giving up a season-high 22 goals while scoring the least on the other end of the field. SU had momentum heading into the game with a 13-11 upset over then-No. 5 Virginia, but the Fighting Irish quickly killed that. Notre Dame has the opportunity to do this again as Syracuse is coming off an upset over then-No. 11 Duke, which marked the first time it’s won two games in a row this season. 

This year, it will likely be closer than last year. But in South Bend, it’ll be a very tall task. Dordevic will need to have a monster game, similar to what Kavanaugh did against SU last season with 10 points, if the Orange want a legitimate chance.

Published on March 30, 2022 at 9:36 pm