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In 1986, Hobart and Syracuse faced off for the 72nd time in 70 years, but the stakes were heightened for both sides. Former head coach Roy Simmons Jr. and then-Syracuse athletic director Jake Crouthamel had created the Kraus-Simmons Trophy, honoring Roy Simmons Sr., Babe Kraus and the “familial” connection between the two coaches.

Syracuse has dominated the rivalry, and the trophy created for it, losing only 26 of 108 games against Hobart. Since 1916, the two teams have played each other in all but six years, including 2021. The Orange are looking for their ninth-straight win in the matchup this Saturday.

Here’s everything to know about Hobart (4-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10) before the matchup:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 79-26-2.

Last time they played

The Orange hoisted the Kraus-Simmons Trophy for the eighth straight time last season, defeating Hobart 18-16. Tucker Dordevic and Brendan Curry finished with five goals each, controlling SU’s offense throughout the afternoon.

The Statesmen started with a 3-2 lead before SU took hold of the game on a 4-0 scoring run. But Hobart continued to threaten Syracuse’s advantage, going on a 4-2 run in the fourth quarter to make it a one score game with 36 seconds left.

Curry said the Statesmen moved into a zone defense during the final frame, something that’s more common in box lacrosse. But in the final 15 seconds, Curry took the ball in Dordevic’s position at the right side of the field. Hobart left the cage empty and Curry worked alone against a double team, sending the final dagger into the back of the net.

“With a one-goal lead with a couple seconds left, I was going to get doubled anyways, so if I had the angle, I might as well put it in,” Curry said.

The Statesmen report

Hobart is off to a better start than last season, when it lost four straight games at this point in the year. The Statesmen most recently defeated Providence 13-11, led by John Jude Considine’s three goals. The Friars kept Hobart’s go-to guy, Anthony Dattellas, relatively quiet as he only scored twice.

Dattellas leads the Statesmen with 27 points this season, more than the next two players’ point totals combined. Jude Considine is Hobart’s second-best option with 13 points. His 73.3% shot-on-goal percentage is the best out of anyone on the team with at least five goals.

Hobart is one of the most efficient teams nationally, ranked ninth in efficiency by possession length, according to Lacrosse Reference. The Statesmen have the 43rd-best shooting percentage in the country with a success rate of 29.2%, per Lacrosse Reference.

How Syracuse beats Hobart

The script for this game should be similar to the one Syracuse used against St. Bonaventure. Head coach Gary Gait reminded his team at halftime that the Orange need to keep their foot on the throttle no matter who the opponent is. He saw them execute in all facets of the game, something that has been hard to come by this season, especially with the faceoff unit.

Joey Spallina should continue to facilitate from the X, as the Statesmen likely won’t have a specific strategy to stop him from back there. If they double him, like the Bonnies did on certain possessions, that leaves Griffin Cook or someone else to take advantage of the position.

The defense will most likely be without their top cover guy Landon Clary again but they should stop Dattellas. Hobart has the advantage in the faceoff circle with a 50.7% win percentage this year, but it hasn’t faced much tough competition. Johnny Richiusa may not set a season-high like he did against St. Bonaventure, but he should do enough to give the Orange possession.

Stat to know: 26:49

Syracuse’s overtime loss to Duke was a statistical anomaly, mostly because the Blue Devils had possession for the majority of the afternoon. “I don’t think we have a stat for that, but it was a lot to a little,” Gait said.

According to Lacrosse Reference, the Orange have the second-worst time of possession nationally, holding the ball for 26:49 of gameplay. This is mainly an issue with them not winning the majority of faceoffs and an early struggle with picking up ground balls. Hobart could easily win the possession battle on Saturday, putting even more pressure on the Orange to execute.

Stephanie Zaso | Digital Design Director

Player to watch: Anthony Dattellas, attack, No. 23

The Statesmen rely heavily on Dattellas, who averages 9.17 shots per game this season. He scored a season-high seven goals against Canisius in Hobart’s season-opener and is already three points shy of the total he recorded throughout all of 2022. Dattellas’ 4.50 points per game is tied for 20th in the country.

The Orange have done okay with Clary, but they’ll need to lock up Dattellas in order to make sure that this contest isn’t as close as last year’s.

Published on March 22, 2023 at 9:45 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu