Opponent Preview: What to know about No. 5 Army

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Syracuse started the 2024 season how it was supposed to, stringing out three straight wins against weaker opponents. Then, the Orange dropped their first game of the season against then-No. 4 Maryland in overtime before bouncing back with a dominant 18-7 win over Utah.

Spearheaded by Mason Kohn’s 9-for-9 start at the faceoff X, SU led 7-3 after the first quarter and never looked back. Syracuse’s defense held Utah without a goal for a 34-minute stretch as the Orange continued to extend their lead.

After the easy portion of its schedule, SU welcomes No. 5 Army into the JMA Wireless Dome. The Black Knights are the first of potentially eight ranked opponents for the Orange in their final 10 games.

Here’s everything to know about No. 5 Army (3-0, Patriot League) before it takes on No. 7 Syracuse (4-1, Atlantic Coast Conference):

All-time series

Army leads 42-27.

The last time they played

After back-to-back losses against Maryland and Virginia, Syracuse fell 17-13 to Army on March 2, 2022, dropping to 1-3 on the season.

Owen Seebold and Brendan Curry each scored four goals as SU held a slim one-goal lead heading into the fourth quarter. But five unanswered goals from Army across the final 15-minutes SU its third straight loss of the season. Outside of a 7-2 second quarter, the Orange were outscored 15-6 in the other three quarters.

The Black Knights Report

In 2023, Army was picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League. But after a 10-3 regular season, the Black Knights won the conference tournament to secure an NCAA Tournament berth. Army then upset defending champions Maryland in overtime, but fell 10-9 to Penn State in the quarterfinals.

The Black Knights return most of their 2023 roster, including their top five scorers and faceoff man Will Coletti, who had a 61% win rate last year. One of the lone major pieces Army lost was goalkeeper Knox Dent, who stopped 153 shots and boasted a 53.3% save percentage.

After a one-goal win over UMass in their season opener, the Black Knights outscored Mercer and Rutgers 31-14 to move to 3-0. Army gets most of its offensive production through its top two scorers Jackson Eicher and Reese Burek, both of whom have 10 points this season.

How Syracuse beats Army

The No. 1 goal for Syracuse is to take care of the ball. Despite a dominant win against Utah, the Orange were sloppy at times with 18 turnovers, their second-most on the season. Versus a disciplined Army defense, SU can’t afford to turn the ball over. The Orange have a high-octane offense (16.8 goals per game) and a number of players who can hurt teams.

But if Syracuse wants to be successful, it needs to continue to play through Joey Spallina at X. The attack has shown a knack for assisting teammates after spending a summer playing box lacrosse in Canada. Spallina already has 22 assists, 10 away from equaling his total from last year.

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Despite the gaudy assist numbers, SU needs Spallina to be aggressive as a scorer. Spallina was held in check by Maryland’s Ajax Zappitello (one goal, two assists), but he’s going to need at least a five-point performance if Syracuse wants to pull off a win.

Stat to know: 8 penalties

Army has committed just eight penalties so far this season, including just one against UMass. Syracuse has committed 23, albeit in two more games. In 2023, Army proved its discipline, only committing 53 penalties over 17 games.

Penalties will play a huge role Wednesday in what should be a tight contest. Syracuse had the best man-up offense in the ACC last season with 39 goals — 18 more than the next closest team — while Army was 32-for-49 on man-down defense. This season, SU is 8-for-20, but with versatile offensive pieces, Army can’t afford to give an advantage to an already potent offense.

Player to watch No. 3 Jackson Eicher

Eichner didn’t play in 2023 due to a torn ACL, but has been Army’s best player so far in 2024. As a freshman, Eichner only had four goals in six appearances. He’s doubled that total this season. The attack recorded multiple goals in Army’s first three games and is tied with Burek for the most points on the team (10).