Opponent Preview: What to know about Utah

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Syracuse started off the season with three easy wins over Vermont, Colgate and Manhattan. The Orange outscored their opponents 54-20, but then faced their toughest test yet — then-No. 4 Maryland.

What entailed was a back-and-forth battle in which the Terrapins came out on top 13-12 in overtime. With Joey Spallina held quiet (three points), Luke Rhoa and Michael Leo combined to score seven goals.

Christian Mulé’s goal with a minute left sent the game to overtime, and controversy ensued. Leo cut inside and dove for a finish which looked to be the game-winning goal. But Leo landed in the goal mouth, which led to the goal being disallowed after video review. Then, Maryland marched right down the field for the game winner.

After its first loss of the season, Syracuse now faces off against Utah, the defending Atlantic Sun Conference Champions. Despite a 12-5 regular season record in 2023, the Utes have started 0-2 in 2024 with losses to Ohio State and Denver.

Here’s everything to know about Utah (0-2, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) before it takes on No. 6 Syracuse (3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference):

All-time series

This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

The Utes Report

Utah returns a lot from last season, including its top five goal scorers. In its defense, the only key departure was Samuel Cambere, who made 63 appearances in five seasons. The Utes are anchored by Colin Lenskold in net, who registered a 46.5% save percentage in 2023.

Despite a lot of returners, it’s been a struggle for the Utes so far this year. Utah has scored just 16 goals through its first two games, a drastic drop off after averaging 16 goals per game in 2023.

The offensive numbers through two games for Utah reveal two things: less volume and decreased efficiency. The Utes averaged 53 shots per game last season, but that number has dwindled down to 39. Also, just 20.5% of Utah’s shots are hitting the back of the net after a 30.4% clip last season.

A big reason for the offensive struggles is also due to the inexperience at the faceoff X. Utah has only won 36% of its faceoffs this season after Cole Brams registered a 54.8% win rate last year. The Utes’ main new faceoff specialist, sophomore Tyler Kloeckl, has taken nearly double the amount of faceoffs through two games (48) than all of his freshman season (25). So far, Kloeckl has won just 17-of-48 faceoffs.

Fernanda Kligerman | Design Editor

How Syracuse beats Utah

The most important thing for Syracuse is getting the attack back on track after a quiet performance against Maryland. The trio of Spallina, Mulé and Owen Hiltz combined to score just two goals and registered just five points Saturday. Spallina and the rest of the attack feasted against weaker competition the first three games, and should expect much of the same against Utah.

Another key for Syracuse will be starting fast. The Orange fell behind 5-2 against Maryland and were forced to play catch-up. In the first three games, SU jumped on its opponents early, outscoring them 17-5 in the final three quarters of each. Syracuse will try to put this game away as early as possible since this is its fifth game in 18 days.

Stat to know: 6

Utah has just six total assists on the season. Last season, the Utes were second in the ASUN with 8.24 assists per game. Utah had just two assists in its opening game against Ohio State and then four against Denver. On the other hand, Syracuse has 45 total assists — the most in the country — on 66 goals.

Player to watch: No. 6 Ryan Stines

Stines is the reigning ASUN Freshman of the Year after registering 49 points in 17 games in 2023. Stines set the Utes freshman goals record with 38, which ranked sixth in the conference. Stines’ marquee performance came against then-No. 10 Jacksonville on March 31, where he finished with five goals in an 18-15 win.

After a stellar freshman campaign, his production has continued in 2024. Through two games, Stines leads Utah with five points, including a hat trick on Feb. 3 against Ohio State.