No. 4 Virginia Travels to No. 7 Syracuse Saturday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Coming off its second loss of the season, No. 4 Virginia (10-2, 1-1) looks to bounce back as it concludes a two-game road stint on Saturday (April 20), when the Cavaliers travel to No. 7 Syracuse (10-4, 2-1). Opening faceoff from the JMA Wireless Dome is set for 2 p.m. as Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Paul Carcaterra (analyst) will have the call on ESPNU.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

3 – Payton Cormier (203 goals) needs only three goals to tie for No. 3 all-time on the NCAA Division I career goals list.

20 – Dating back to 2017, Virginia has won its last 20 games immediately following a loss (in the same season).

885 – Jack Boyden (339), Connor Shellenberger (296) and Payton Cormier (250) combine for 885 career points. No other team in the nation has three active players on its roster who combine for that amount.

SERIES HISTORY

• With its 19-12 victory over Syracuse at Klöckner Stadium last season, Virginia took the lead in the all-time series, which began in 1938, 21-20.
• The Hoos are currently riding a three-game win streak in the series.
• In 41 all-time meetings, UVA narrowly leads Cuse 547-537 in goals scored.
• The last time UVA lost to the Orange was on April 24, 2021, in a 13-11 decision at Klöckner Stadium.
• The last time the Cavaliers and Syracuse went head to head at the JMA Wireless Dome was when the Hoos defeated Cuse, 21-15, to clinch a share of the program’s 19th ACC title.
• Additionally, UVA’s 21 goals scored in the 2022 meeting tied for the most by a Syracuse opponent in The Dome since it opened in 1980.
• In the 2022 ACC opener at Klöckner Stadium, UVA dominated the Orange, 20-11, which marked its largest margin of victory in the series. Four Cavaliers notched hat tricks and Petey LaSalla set the program record for career faceoff wins.
• The two schools battled only three times between 1938-93, but have met at least once each season from 1994-2023 with the exception of 2020 due to COVID-19.
• The last time the two teams met in the NCAA Tournament was when Syracuse defeated the Cavaliers, 12-11, in a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the 2008 NCAA semifinals.
• The Orange victory snapped a five-game UVA win streak, the longest by either team in series history.
• Cuse went on to capture the national championship on Memorial Day.
• Virginia’s loss in 2011 snapped a three-game win streak in The Dome over Syracuse, a feat boasted by no other Orange opponent at the time.
• In Syracuse’s first-ever ACC game in 2014, James Pannell scored a career-high seven goals in a 17-12 UVA triumph at Klöckner Stadium.

TIFFANY-COACHED TEAMS KNOW HOW TO RESPOND AFTER A LOSS

• Since Lars Tiffany took over as UVA head coach in 2017, the Cavaliers are 23-2 in games immediately following a loss (in the same season).
• The Hoos have won their last 20 such contests and have not suffered back-to-back losses since dropping the final two games of the 2017 season to Duke and Penn, respectively.

A WIN FOR THE CAVALIERS WOULD…

• Extend Virginia’s win streak in the series with Syracuse to four games.
• Be UVA’s second consecutive in the JMA Wireless Dome.
• Assure the Cavaliers of at least a .500 record in ACC play for the third consecutive year.

LAST TIME OUT

• This past Sunday (April 14), Virginia dropped its 19th consecutive regular-season matchup with Duke, 18-12, at Koskinen Stadium.
• Anthony Ghobriel (14-23 FO) and Thomas Colucci (6-11 FO) combined to finish 59 percent at the faceoff X, and the Cavaliers won the battle on the ground, 47-34.
• However, UVA only managed five saves in net and the Blue Devils, who entered Sunday’s game shooting 34 percent on the season, scored on 43 percent of their shots.
• Offensively, UVA was led by Payton Cormier, who finished with a team-high three goals, and Connor Shellenberger (1g, 3a), who recorded a team-best four points.
• Duke’s starting attack of Josh Zawada (5g, 1a), Brennan O’Neill (4g, 1a) and Dyson Williams (3g) combined for 12 of the Blue Devils’ 18 goals.

CAVALIERS AMONG THE NATION’S STATISTICAL LEADERS

• For games played through April 17, Virginia leads the nation in assists (9.75), caused turnovers (11.58) and ground balls (39.84). UVA is second in clearing (.930) and win percentage (.833), fourth in points (24.67), fifth in man-up offense (.500) and scoring offense (14.92), eighth in scoring margin (4.50) and 10th in shooting percentage (.326).
• Among all Division I players this season, Payton Cormier is currently No. 1 in goals (3.67) and 20th in points per game(4.50). Connor Shellenberger is seventh in assists (3.00) and 13th in points per game (4.75). Matthew Nunes is 11th in save percentage (.565) and 16th in goals-against (10.00) and Cole Kastner is 20th in caused turnovers per game (1.75).

VIRGINIA IN THE POLLS

• 4 Virginia has been ranked in the top 5 of the USILA Coaches poll in 337 weeks all-time, including in the most recent edition of the poll.
• Virginia has been ranked No. 1 in the nation in 70 all-time polls.
• UVA has been ranked in 529 out of 550 (.962) total USILA polls all-time.
• The USILA Poll began in 1973.

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers wrap up the regular season by hosting No. 1 Notre Dame (8-1, 2-0) on Saturday (April 27) in a rematch of the 2023 NCAA semifinals, when the Hoos lost 13-12 in overtime.
• Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for 2 p.m.