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Syracuse opens its first season under new head coach Gary Gait with its second-ever matchup against Holy Cross on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. Behind a superstar coaching staff that features Gait, defensive coordinator Dave Pietramala and volunteer assistant TD Ierlan, Syracuse kicks off the 106th season in program history.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen in Syracuse’s season opener against the Crusaders on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Alex Cirino (0-0)
Making a statement
Syracuse 18, Holy Cross 8

It’s finally time for the new — and potentially improved — Syracuse program to take the field. And to cover up a shocking NCAA Tournament first-round loss to Georgetown, the Orange will record a statement, season-opening victory against a Holy Cross program that has historically struggled. Despite some reshuffling due to graduated and injured players, which includes the loss of multiple key starters, Syracuse’s core pieces are still there. Tucker Dordevic, the Orange’s highest returning point scorer, will shift to attack amid Owen Hiltz’s recent injury. The defense will likely have transformed for the better under Pietramala. This is Gait’s program now, and he has the right pieces to make a statement win in his debut.

Roshan Fernandez (0-0)
Shaking off rust
Syracuse 13, Holy Cross 7

Syracuse’s 2022 schedule is not very forgiving, with No. 2 Maryland and No. 1 Virginia in weeks two and three of the season, Duke and Notre Dame back-to-back later on and then UNC, UVA and Notre Dame to close things out. SU needs to get right into the groove of things, and that starts on Saturday with what should be one of Syracuse’s only straightforward wins of the season. The Orange beat up on Holy Cross last year, and they should do the same again this year.

This will be a crucial game for SU to sort out its defensive situation and begin to gauge what kind of offseason improvement players like Cole Horan and Nick DiPietro have made under Pietramala. It’ll be a good chance for faceoff specialist Jakob Phaup to shake off some rust and assess how he has fared under Ierlan’s direction, before he faces tougher ACC competition this season. And it’ll be a good gauge of how well the Orange’s offense is meshing without Hiltz and with Dordevic shifted to attack. Syracuse will obviously handle business, the question is just how good — or not good — they’ll look.

Anish Vasudevan (0-0)
Training day
Syracuse 16, Holy Cross 9

In its only prior meeting against Holy Cross, Syracuse thrashed the Crusaders 15-6 at home. And despite the injury of Hiltz before the season as well as this matchup being Gait’s first with the men’s side, the second meeting should be awfully similar to the first.

Still, the Orange are replacing goalie Drake Porter with former Virginia goalie Bobby Gavin. And the rest of Pietramala’s revamped defense still needs to get through a few games before both aspects start to click. This is the game for SU to test what works and what doesn’t while chasing a win in the process.

Published on February 9, 2022 at 8:28 pm