Let's Analyze the Syracuse Men's and Women's Lacrosse Schedules

First off, for those of you just interested in the schedule, here is the Syracuse Orange men's and women's schedule:

Men's Schedule (Syracuse ranked #4)

Date	Opponent
Saturday Feb 7	Siena
Sunday Feb 15	#8 Cornell
Sunday Feb 22	#18 Army
Sunday March 1	#10 Virginia
Saturday March 7	St. Johns (Cobb County Lacrosse Classic in Atlanta, GA)
Saturday March 14	#5 Johns Hopkins
Sunday March 22	Duke
Saturday March 28	@ #2 Notre Dame
Thursday April 2	#13 Albany
Saturday April 11	@ #6 North Carolina
Tuesday April 14	Hobart
Friday April 24-Sunday April 2	ACC Tournament (Chester, PA)
Saturday May 2	@ Colgate

Women's Schedule (Syracuse ranked #4)

Date	Opponent
Saturday Feb 7	#18 Denver
Saturday Feb 7	Canisius
Sunday Feb 15	Canisius
Sunday Feb 15	Presbyterian
Monday Feb 23	#5 Virginia
Wednesday Feb 25	UConn
Saturday Feb 28	#7 Boston College
Saturday March 7	@ #1 Maryland
Tuesday March 10	@ #3 Florida
Saturday March 14	Harvard (in Orlando, FL)
Tuesday March 17	Cornell
Sunday March 22	@ #8 Northwestern
Saturday March 28	@ #6 Duke
Saturday April 4	@ Virginia Tech
Tuesday April 7	#9 Notre Dame
Saturday April 11	@ #2 North Carolina
Thursday April 16	@ #16 Louisville
Sunday April 19	Albany
Thursday April 23 - Sunday April 26	ACC Tournament
Saturday May 2	#12 Loyola

Here are some quick schedule notes on the men's side:

The Syracuse Orange has not played fewer than twelve regular season games since the 2006 season. There isn't a team on this year's schedule that SU hasn't seen recently, but let's go through it game by game.

February 8 - Siena

Series Record: 3-0

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 19 - Siena 7

*Last year was the first time the two teams have met in the regular season.

February 15 - Cornell

Series Record: 63-35-1

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 14 - Cornell 9

*This will be the 100^th game between these two upstate schools. After eight years straight of making the NCAA Tournament, the Cornell Big Red have missed the Tournament twice in the last three years. Cornell will be led by first team, All-American midfielder Connor Buczek and second teamer Matt Donovan.

February 22 - Army

Series Record: 22-39

Last Game: (2013) Syracuse 6 - Army 2

*In 2010, several hours after graduation, the Army Black Knights took down Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Army had the Orange figured out and beat SU by possessing the ball for long periods of time, killing the high-powered Syracuse offense. Army used two goalies in 2014 but will return third team All-American Sam Somers who had 10 starts last year as well as second team All-American John Glesner, the #4 player nationally in goals per game.

March 1 - Virginia

Series Record: 14-16

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 12 - Virginia 17

*While Syracuse has had tremendous trouble with Duke in recent years, the Orange's real ACC rival is the Virginia Cavaliers. In this matchup we have two of the greatest active coaches in division I history, and in the history of the game. When UVA and SU played in 2011both teams were ranked first in the nation in a tie.

March 7 - St. John's

Series Record: 8-0

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 14 - St. John's 8

*Remember when Syracuse and St. John's both played lacrosse in the Big East Conference...for that three years? Between 2010 and 2014 the St. John's Red Storm and the Syracuse Orange have faced-off six times. The other two games occurred in 1990 and 1991. St. John's graduated all three of their starting attack who combined for 104 goals last season. That trio includes Kieran McArlde, the program's all-time leader in career points, so St. John's will be looking for a new offensive spark in its 2015 campaign.

March 14 - Johns Hopkins

Series Record: 24-27-1

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 12 - Johns Hopkins 10

*Rivalry game. This is one of Syracuse University's biggest rivalry games, in any sport. If you were to take a look inside the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays media guide you would find that the school claims to have 44 National Championships. Ummm...what? Back to reality, the NCAA Tournament began in 1971 and since that year the Blue Jays have won 9. If you only watch one regular season game this year, make it this one.

March 22 - Duke

Series Record: 7-5

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 7 - Duke 21; (ACCT 1^st Round) (2014) Syracuse 16 - Duke 15

*Duke...the new bully on the block. At first glance it is hard to believe that these two teams have only met 12 times. Over the last four years the Orange and the Duke Blue Devils have faced off six times. Even more amazing however is the fact that this will be the first time Duke will visit the Carrier Dome in the regular season, and just the second time ever. The only other time the Blue Devils have ventured to Syracuse was back in 1994 for the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament when SU beat Duke 12-11. The two schools have played in Durham four times, Philadelphia twice, Metlife Stadium twice, and Providence, Syracuse, Hempstead and Foxborough once. Following the inaugural 1938 matchup, forty years passed before the second matchup occurred. This year Duke is ranked 4^th in the ACC Coaches' Poll but don't let that deceive you. Yes, the Blue Devils lost Jordan Wolf, Josh Dionne and Brendan Fowler but they return a pretty strong midfield along with their 2014 starting goalie Luke Aaron.

March 28 - Notre Dame

Series Record: 8-2

Last Game: (ACCT Championship) (2014) Syracuse 14 - Notre Dame 15; (2014) Syracuse 11 - Notre Dame 10

*The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have played Syracuse four times in the last two years. Similarly to Duke, however, I feel like the Irish and Orange should have battled more than ten times. Either way Notre Dame has been to the NCAAT every year since 2006.

April 2 - Albany

Series Record: 11-1

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 17 - Albany 16 OT

I'm not sure anyone realized just how good that starting attack line for the Albany Great Danes was last year when these two played early in 2014. Albany has lost a lot of that attack power and their defense is still fairly week. This shouldn't be the same challenge it was last year.

April 11 - North Carolina

Series Record: 12-6

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 11 - North Carolina 10 2OT

*Last year featured a great game against the North Carolina Tar Heels with Billy Ward putting away the game winner in the second overtime. Syracuse has seen a lot of Duke, Notre Dame, and Virginia in recent years, but SU fans are probably least familiar with the Tar Heels. The reason is because other than 2014, the last time these two teams have squared off was all the way back in 1996 in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals in Piscataway, NJ (SU won 19-12). The last time the two met in the regular season was in 1994 at Syracuse (SU won 17-10). 2015 will be the first time Syracuse will travel to Chapel Hill since 1993.

April 14 - Hobart

Series Record: 72-26-2

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 15 - Hobart 9

*Anyone who does not follow lacrosse closely may not understand the deep history between these two clubs. On April 29, 1916, Syracuse took on its first ever opponent at the varsity level, Hobart. While the video has been lost, the record shows the Statesmen taking the game 9-1. Prior to 1995, Hobart played at the DIII level; Syracuse and Hobart have never met in the NCAAT yet still this will be the 101^st meeting between the two teams and the 30^th year the two will battle for the Kraus-Simmons Trophy. The trophy is named after Coach Roy Simmons Jr. and Coach Babe Kraus. Roy Simmons Jr. became the second ever coach for the Orange in 1931 and amassed a 290-96 record including six National Championships. Babe Kraus coached Hobart for forty years until his death in 1966 and finished his career with a 207-120-5 record at Hobart. In the 29 years that the Trophy has been awarded, Syracuse has taken it home 26 times. Hobart always plays the Orange tough; this is not a game to overlook.

May 2 - at Colgate

Series Record: 44-11-1

Last Game: (2014) Syracuse 19 - Colgate 6

*Syracuse and the Colgate Raiders have only played each other once in the last five years. Two of the eleven Colgate wins came in 2007 and 2008. The series began in 1922 and was played 20 times until 1949.