Game Thread: No. 17 Syracuse men’s lacrosse vs. Johns Hopkins

The Syracuse Orange vs. the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays.

The rivalry is back, baby! This time, with a twist.

The longtime heavyweight rivals will meet for the first time since 2020 due to the Big Ten’s conference-only schedule in 2021. The game, taking place at Hopkins’ famed Homewood Field, is set for 4 PM and will be televised on ESPNU.

The game is, as you may have heard, Dave Pietramala’s return to Homewood Field and Johns Hopkins for the first time since parting ways with his alma mater and the place he coached at for 20 years.

The matchup will no doubt take on a little extra emotional importance for both programs who will be motivated to win the reunion game. Of course, there is no extra motivation needed in one of the best, most storied rivalries in the sport.

That is especially true this year, since a lot more than bragging rights are on the line. With ‘Cuse at 2-3 and Hopkins at 3-3, these are two fringe top-20 teams in desperate need of a win. To be honest, their six losses aren’t all that bad. The Orange have lost to Maryland, Virginia and Army, while the Blue Jays have fallen to Georgetown, North Carolina and Virginia. Those teams can pretty much all be considered among the best in the country.

The problem is that neither team has all that much to boast about in the win column, and picking up this rivalry win could be a nice way to jump start that a little bit.

Syracuse will need to avoid the slow starts that have plagued them in their losses against the top teams, and they’ll need to do their best to cut down on the turnovers, penalties and general mental mistakes that have become a little too familiar so far in the early season.

This is the 60th all-time meeting between the game’s two most successful programs, with Hopkins holding the unfortunate slight edge, 30-28-1. The Orange have won six of the last 10 as they look to continue to narrow the gap of the all-time series.