Fresh off their second straight 6-5 win over a ranked foe at Virginia on Saturday, the Syracuse Orange are heading right back out on the road with a trip to New York’s Capital Region to face the UAlbany Great Danes for a Tuesday matinee.
The Orange have won seven games in a row to move themselves all the way up to No. 5 in this week’s Inside Lacrosse media poll.
Opening draw for ‘Cuse’s matchup with the Great Danes and Orange legend Katie Rowan-Thomson is set for 3 PM on ESPN+.
Season so far
UAlbany is off to a great start so far this season with a 7-2 record, winning both of their conference games to this point.
They started the season with a win over Holy Cross before dropping their second game against Stony Brook. They followed that up with a win over a Harvard team that was ranked at the time and a win over Niagara before falling by a goal on the road to UConn.
Since then, they’ve gone on their own winning streak, winning their last four games against Colgate, Wagner, New Hampshire and UMass Lowell.
Scouting UAlbany
The Great Danes currently rank T-33rd in the country with an offense averaging 13.33 goals per game, while their defense ranks T-46th averaging 10.0 goals-against per game.
They’re a very good shooting team, ranking 14th nationally with a .490 shot percentage and T-4th with an outstanding .625 free position percentage (25-of-40). They’re also a very good draw control team, ranking 10th nationally with a .630 win percentage.
The major downside for UAlbany, which will surely be an issue for them against SU’s defense, is that they rank 104th in the country with 15.78 turnovers per game. That’s just not a good sign when you’re playing a team that turns teams over like crazy.
Names to Know
Sophomore midfielder Ravan Marsell leads the Great Danes with 43 points and is their primary distributor with 27 assists. She’s one of just 10 players in Division I averaging at least 3.0 assists per game this season. She’s also a very efficient shooter, scoring 16 goals on just 26 shots (.615).
Junior midfielder Paisley Cook is the team’s all-around superstar, leading the team with 23 goals, 99 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers. She’s also second on the team with 33 points and 10 assists, and third with 15 ground balls.
Senior attacker Kloey Roos is second on the team with 21 goals and third with 24 points. Freshman midfielder Mya Carroll, from Fulton, has her career off to a great start with 14 goals, 19 points and 19 draw controls.
Grad student attacker Jaedyn Frink, from Baldwinsville, has 16 goals and 18 points and freshman attacker Riley Forthofer has six goals and eight assists to round out the double-figure scorers for the Great Danes.
In goal, senior goalie Grace Cincebox has been UAlbany’s primary starter between the pipes the past four years, and is currently having her best season yet. She’s started all nine games and has made 67 saves with a 10.06 goals-against average and a .450 save percentage.
