It’s been just over a week since Syracuse’s massive win over Maryland last Friday night, and the Orange are ready to move on as they play their first of six consecutive games away from the JMA Dome against the No. 13 Harvard Crimson.
The game will be played at Harvard’s Jordan Field at 1 PM on ESPN+.
The Orange and Crimson return for a rubber match after they
split two very exciting meetings last year.
In the regular season, ‘Cuse jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening six minutes before Harvard slowly reeled them in over the course of the rest of the game for a 15-14 win. Then, in the NCAA Tournament First Round, the opposite happened as the Crimson built a 7-1 lead in the first half before SU staged a dramatic fourth quarter comeback. They actually took the lead before giving it back and sending the game to overtime, where the Orange ended the game and Harvard’s season on the first possession for a 13-12 win.
The third act has a lot to live up to after all that.
Last year’s Crimson side was led by Tewaaraton finalist Sam King and his 66 points, but King was actually not the biggest headache for the ‘Cuse defense last season.
That honor went to King’s fellow attackmen, Teddy Malone and Jack Speidell. Malone scored six goals and two assists in the two games, while Speidell tallied four goals and three assists. They were the second and third leading scorers for the Crimson last year, and they’re back to lead the way in 2026.
Malone’s off to a torrid start this year with 10 goals and 12 points in two games, with Speidell not far behind having nine points and six assists.
Last year, ‘Cuse smoked the Crimson on face-offs, going a borderline unbelievable 53-of-61 between the two games for an 86.9 percent success rate. Of course, SU lost one game and won the other one in overtime, so it’s not like the face-off domination translated exactly into the results.
But the bottom line is that face-offs were a major weakness for Harvard last season. In two games this season, Owen Umansky, who took the third-most FO’s for them last year, is off to a decent start going 21-of-41 (.512). It’ll be a major step up for him facing Johnny Mullen today, though.
Last year, true freshman goalie Graham Stevens acquitted himself impressively on two occasions in the Dome. The rookie finished with 24 saves across the two games with a .471 save percentage. This year, he’s off to a great start with 19 saves, a 6.00 goals-against average and a .613 save percentage in their first two games.
