No. 6 Syracuse (5-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) returns to the Carrier Dome Saturday after a two-game road stretch to host ACC foe Duke at 1:30 p.m. The last time SU took the field, the Orange took home an overtime victory against longtime rival Johns Hopkins. It was SU’s fifth straight one-goal game.

Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup against the No. 11 Blue Devils (7-2), who have won five straight.

All-time series: SU leads, 10-6

Last time they played: In the 2016 ACC championship game, Syracuse got revenge against Duke after losing in Week 7 of the same year. Syracuse jumped out first before the two teams went back and forth for the first and most of the second quarter. At the end of the third, Syracuse held onto an 8-7 lead. In the fourth, Syracuse scored to go up two with under seven remaining and didn’t look back. The Orange finished on a 5-0 run to take home the ACC championship, 14-8.

Syracuse was led by Tim Barber (four goals), while Derek DeJoe, Dylan Donahue, Nick Mariano and Sergio Salcido all had a pair of goals in the win. Salcido added four assists in what would become his breakout All-American season.

The Blue Devils report: The Duke attack is led by Justin Guterding who had SU’s number last year and was Duke’s No. 1 scorer. This year, he leads the team in points, pouring in 25 goals with 21 assists in nine games.

“The game comes to left handers,” Duke head coach John Danowski said. “He’s become more of a dodger than he was in the past.”

Alongside Guterding on attack is freshman attack Joey Manown (14 goals). Midfielders Jack Bruckner (21 goals) and Brad Smith (10 goals) can find the back of the net as well. All three players have 20-plus points to their names this season. Duke’s offense ranks No. 9 in the country.

Daily Orange File Photo

FOGO Kyle Rowe returns for Duke. He took nearly every faceoff last year, putting together a 64-percent success rate at the X. Last season in two games against Syracuse, Rowe won the faceoff battle with Ben Williams, going 29-of-56. Overall, Duke ranks a mere 34th in faceoffs this year.

Defensively, Duke returns senior Brian Dunne, junior Greg Pelton and sophomore Cade Van Raaphorst. Ethan Powley started all 19 games on close defense last year, but has since become a long-stick midfielder. Duke has started freshman JT Giles-Harris, going to Pelton off the bench and Powley at LSM. The Blue Devils’ defense is dominant, No. 7 in the NCAA in defense, allowing only 7.56 goals per game. Even with limiting opposing defenses to less than eight goals a game, the team struggles in causing turnovers (tied 47th).

Overall, Duke ranks second in man-up offense, ninth in assists per game and fifth in scoring margin. The offense works the ball around and takes its time before taking a shot on goal.

How Duke beats Syracuse: Duke will enter the Carrier Dome on a five-game win streak. In all but one game in that span, Duke has struck first. If Duke wants to defeat Syracuse, its offense has to take advantage of the inexperience that occasionally slips through on the Orange defense. Guterding is a huge threat and if the focus is on the junior attack, Bruckner can make SU pay.

If Duke can jump out to an early lead, Syracuse’s offense will have to step up. Over the past two weeks, SU has not scored in double digits. Inconsistency looms from time to time. SU could pull out another strong win with good performances by Jordan Evans, Nick Mariano, Sergio Salcido and Brendan Bomberry.

“It’s (Syracuse’s) balance on offense,” Danowski said. “They have so many weapons on a particular day (that) can make plays.”

Statistics to know:  

46 — Number of points Justin Guterding has through nine games, more than Mariano (22) and Salcido (20) combined

56 — Duke’s man-up percentage, good for second in the nation

Daily Orange File Photo

5 — Unanswered goals for Syracuse against Duke to pull away in the 2016 ACC championship

377 — Duke head coach John Danowski has 377 wins, the all-time NCAA Division I record

Player to watch: Justin Guterding, attack, No. 14

The New York native has started every single game since coming to Duke in 2015. He won ACC Rookie of the Year and earned All-ACC honors, becoming the fastest Blue Devil to 100 career points. Each year he has led the team in goals. The Blue Devils offense runs through the junior, who has 25 points and 21 assists to his name. Last season, he had four goals in two games against the Orange. Scott Firman will have to be at his best Saturday, similar to his performance against star attack Shack Stanwick (one point) last week.

Published on March 24, 2017 at 1:06 pm

Contact Charlie: csdistur@syr.edu | @charliedisturco