Army Faces Early Test at No. 3/4 Syracuse

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army men's lacrosse team faces its toughest test of the early season with a visit to No. 3/4 Syracuse on Sunday afternoon on ESPN3 at the Carrier Dome.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION • ESPN3
RADIO • None
VIDEO • WatchESPN
AUDIO • None
LIVE STATISTICS • sidearmstats.com/syracuse/mlax/
GAME NOTES • Army Notes
TWITTER • ArmyWP_MLax

THE OPENING FACEOFF
Army hits the road for the first time this season and faces an early-season test against No. 3/4 Syracuse on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. on ESPN3. The Black Knights are coming into the game after splitting against Rutgers and VMI at Michie Stadium to close out a three-game homestand to begin the season. Army dropped a 13-11 decision to Rutgers last Saturday, while defeating VMI by a 22-3 score on Sunday afternoon. The Orange come into Saturday's game with two wins to start the season. Syracuse downed in-state rivals Siena and Albany in the first two weeks of the season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Black Knights jumped out to an early 10-1 in the first half against the Keydets and cruised to a 22-3 win at Michie Stadium on Sunday. Connor Cook, Nate Jones and Cole Johnson each had four goals apiece, while Johnson led the way with five points overall. AJ Barretto got the start in net and made nine saves in the first half and gave up only one goal, which came in the final 30 seconds.

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
The Black Knights and Orange have a long history dating back to their first meeting back in 1921. The two teams have a history in the NCAA Tournament, including Army's upset 9-8 win in double overtime at the Carrier Dome in 2010. Army head coach Joe Alberici has a connection to Central New York as he grew up in Auburn, N.Y., which is a short distance south of Syracuse. The faceoff duel is one of the main storylines heading into Sunday's matchup as fans will see two of the top 10 faceoff specialists. Army's Dan Grabher sits seventh in the nation in faceoff percentage, while Ben Williams is fifth.

ARMY ON ESPN3
The Black Knights will be on a national webcast for the first time this season as ESPN3 is set to broadcast the game live on the WatchESPN platform. Army will also be on ESPN3 later in the season when it travels to Notre Dame on May 8.

WHAT'S UP NEXT?
Army becomes the last team to play a conference game next weekend at Lafayette on Saturday. All Patriot League squads are facing off this weekend. The game, as all league games are, is free on the Patriot League Network next Saturday at noon.

AT THE X
Army has had a great start to the season at the faceoff "x" as it ranks fifth in the nation in winning percentage at .712. It leads the Patriot League in that category and as a team, won by 20 against VMI on Sunday, the most since winning 20 opposite Loyola on March 14, 2015. Overall, the Black Knights are 52-73 in faceoffs this season.

D-FENSE, D-FENSE
Heading into a tough environment, the Black Knights are 11th in the nation scoring defense, allowing seven goals per game and have held two opponents to five or less goals this season. Army is 14th in the country in caused turnovers and 10th in man-down defense through three games.

ROOKIE THREAT
Plebe Nate Jones has shown he is a scoring threat for the Black Knights early in the season. He had four goals against the Keydets on Sunday and leads Army with eight goals and is second with nine assists. Three of his goals have come in man-up situations, and he has turned the ball over only five times, which is the least amount among all attackmen.

SCOUTING THE ORANGE
Syracuse enters Sunday's matchup as the third-ranked team in the country, according to the Cascade/Maverik Media Poll and is fourth in the USILA/Nike National Poll. The Orange are 2-0 on the year with wins over Siena and No. 12 Albany. Syracuse is averaging 17 goals a game and allowing only six through the two games. The Orange is outshooting its opponents by more than half.

Syracuse is led by a trio of Tewaaraton Watch List members in Dylan Donahue, Brandon Mullins and Ben Williams. Donahue holds the longest-active point streak in the country at 41 games and has scored in 26-straight games. He has 14 points on five goals and nine assists this season. Brandon Mullins anchors the Syracuse defense for the second-straight season and he was a 2015 USILA First Team All-American in 2015. Williams is back as one of the best faceoff specialists in the country and currently ranks fifth in winning percentage. He finished last season in the second spot in the country in faceoff winning percentage and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with a .674 success rate. A recent addition and a productive one, has been the transfer of Nick Mariano. He joined the Orange from UMass and has four goals and two assists for six points. He had a hat trick and four points against the Great Danes.

In goal, senior Warren Hill has earned his starting spot after playing in six games during his junior campaign in 2015. He is a transfer from near-by Onondaga Community College, where he led the Lazers to a 35-0 record and back-to-back junior college national titles. Hill has a 5.14 goals against average and a .526 save percentage in his two starts. He has 10 saves on 19 shots on goal.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's game will be the 63rd meeting between these two schools, dating back to the first game in 1921. Syracuse won the first contest by a 6-5 score. Army dominated the first 40 games of the season, going 36-4, and the four losses came by three goals or less. Since that 40th game in 1981, the Orange have flipped the script with a 19-3 mark. The teams have played once in the NCAA Tournament where Army won in double overtime to upset the second-seeded Orange at the Carrier Dome. Four of the last five meetings have been decided by three goals or less with last year's game ending with the Orange on top at 12-9.

Army Faces Early Test at No. 3/4 Syracuse

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Players Mentioned

AJ Barretto

Connor Cook

Dan Grabher

Cole Johnson

Nate Jones

Army West Point Athletics