After returning to the NCAA tournament for the 11th time in 12 seasons under head coach Ange Bradley, No. 13 Syracuse (12-6, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) earned a first-round matchup against No. 9 Princeton (13-4, 7-0 Ivy) Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Storrs, Connecticut. The Orange lost in the first round of the ACC tournament to Louisville, but used three wins against top-5 teams during the regular season to finish No. 10 in RPI and earn an at-large bid. Charlotte de Vries led the SU offense with 15 goals — three short of the all-time record for a Syracuse freshman set by Martu Locarinca (18) in 2008.

Princeton clinched the outright Ivy League title for the 26th time in program history by defeating Penn last Saturday.

Here’s what to know about the Tigers ahead of the Friday afternoon matchup.

All-time series: Princeton leads, 11-10

Last time they played: Syracuse knocked off the Tigers, 1-0, on Oct. 1, 2017 at J.S. Coyne Stadium behind an Erin Gillingham goal 12 minutes into the game. Goalie Borg Van der Velde held Princeton scoreless in the cage — one of nine shutouts during her freshman season — by saving both shots on goal. 

It marked the seventh consecutive win for the Orange against the Tigers, and Syracuse ended up losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament that year to Michigan, 1-0.

The Princeton report: The Tigers enter their 15th consecutive tournament seeking a third national semifinal appearance in four seasons. They defeated six ranked teams — Wake Forest, Duke, Albany, Penn State and Harvard — this season and enter the game against Syracuse on a 10-match winning streak dating back to Sept. 28. For the second time in three years, they ended conference play without a loss, evidence of the perennial contender head coach Carla Tagliente has produced during her four seasons in New Jersey. Princeton’s offense is highlighted by Clara Roth, Sammy Popper, Hannah Davey and Ali McCarthy and ranked fourth in the country for goals per game during the regular season with 3.29.

At the other end of the field, senior Grace Baylis started all 17 games for the Tigers in her fourth year as their primary goalie. She notched three shutouts on the season and has a goals against average of 1.85, the former tied for first in the Ivy League with Cornell’s Maddie Henry. 

How Syracuse beats Princeton: In order to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016, Syracuse needs to construct a consistent offensive attack against the Tigers. In three regular season wins against top-5 opponents, the Orange gave up 60 combined shots but only two goals. SU’s backline of Claire Webb, SJ Qugley and Olivia Graham has done a relatively good job of clearing the ball off rebounds, although SU head coach Ange Bradley reiterated multiple times this season that giving up 20 or more shots isn’t a good path to take. But Syracuse has been able to escape with victories over Connecticut, Duke and Louisville because of Sarah Sincke’s play in the cage. The freshman from Eindhoven, Netherlands held ACC-leading totals in both total saves and saves per game, eventually earning the starting job after splitting time with Syd Taylor early in the season.

What has lacked this season, at times, are offensive chances created by someone other than freshman Charlotte de Vries. Secondary scoring did pick up over the final conference games — with Sarah Luby and Carolinn Hoffman both taking home ACC offensive player of the week honors — but has been an issue at times too. SU forwards need to create space in the final third by pulling defenders away from the play and opening lanes for a midfielder to pierce the defense’s middle or down the sideline. The Orange will need to crack a veteran goaltender in Baylis, but they have before.

Stat to know: 56 — The number of goals the Tigers’ offense has scored this season. SU, by comparison, has 36. Four players have scored more than nine goals this season for Princeton, and just one has for the Orange.

Player to watch: Clara Roth, No. 20

Roth leads the Tigers’ offense with 14 goals and 38 points in her junior season, and has emerged as the focal point of an offense much more balanced in scoring than Syracuse’s. Four multi-goal games — including a hat trick against Brown on Oct. 15 — vaulted Roth to the top of the points standings, and her 10 assists also rank second on the Tigers. If the Tigers defeat the Orange on Friday, then Roth will likely be involved on Princeton’s goals. Whether that means knocking a shot past Sinck or setting up a tally off an entry pass, she’ll look to add to a goal total that more than surpasses her previous two seasons.

Published on November 15, 2019 at 10:42 am

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew