After an 0-3 start to the season against the three teams at the top of the national rankings, the Syracuse Orange went 2-0 last week after an important non-conference win against the Loyola Greyhounds and their first ACC win of the season over the Louisville Cardinals.
Now, they’ve returned home from the Bluegrass State looking for a winning streak to match their losing streak as the California Golden Bears make the cross-country trip to CNY.
Opening draw is set for 5 PM on ACC Network Extra.
Cal enters the JMA Dome at 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in ACC play. In the non-conference, they picked up wins over San Diego State and Oregon while suffering setbacks to USC and UC Davis. In conference, they beat first-year program Florida State a few weeks ago and are coming off a nine-goal loss to Duke over the weekend.
Statistically, they’re not a team that blows you away with their averages. Their offense ranks 70th in the country at 10.83 goals per game, while their defense is tied for 92nd at 12.5 goals-against per game.
Their best player is senior attacker Courtney Wong, who leads the team in goals (13), assists (13), points (26) and draw controls (30). She’s one of the top scorers in the ACC as her 4.33 points per game is good for seventh in the league.
Wong heavily impacts the game as their leader on offense and one of their primary circle players. She’s scored at least three points in every game this season, including a hat trick against Duke on Saturday. She’s only taken 19 shots all year for a ridiculous .684 shooting percentage. Not sure why she’s only averaging about three shots per game, but she’ll definitely be the top priority for the zone to keep an eye on this evening.
One of her primary running mates is junior attacker Emily Moes, who stands at 6’ tall and is second on the Golden Bears with 12 goals and 16 points. Senior Josie Lillquist has nine goals on just 15 shots (.600) and is third on the team with 12 points, while senior Avery Hoeft rounds out the double-digit scorers so far this year with 11 points on five goals and six assists.
Cal is a mediocre draw team, sitting at 59th in the country with a .503 win percentage and tied for 46th at 12.83 draw controls per game. Sophomore Ashleigh Masterson is their primary draw taker with 24 on the year, second on the team behind Wong’s 30.
Senior Clara Page leads their defense with eight caused turnovers and 21 ground balls, and she’s tops in the ACC averaging 3.5 ground balls per game.
Freshman goalie Lulu Murphy has started every game for them this season and has made 44 saves with a .376 save percentage.
