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No. 4 Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome this week to host No. 9 Notre Dame (4-1, 0-1) on Saturday. The matchup marks the second consecutive week and third time this season that the Orange are facing a conference opponent.

Last week’s Atlantic Coast Conference matchup against then-No. 2 Duke in Durham, North Carolina ended in a one-goal loss for the Orange after they missed two last-second shots. Syracuse hasn’t lost two regular season games back-to-back since 2018 and hasn’t lost two conference games in a row since losing to Duke and Notre Dame in consecutive weeks in 2016.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen in Syracuse’s matchup with the Fighting Irish:

Roshan Fernandez (4-2)
Have a day, Jamie Trimboli
Syracuse 17, Notre Dame 14

Notre Dame has the nation’s top assist leader in sophomore attack Pat Kavanagh. But Syracuse has Jamie Trimboli, Brendan Curry and Tucker Dordevic. The latter two are on a roll this season, picking moments to feed SU’s offense and others to take it themselves. Trimboli has had a quiet 2021 campaign, with just nine points over six games, but I have a feeling his breakout game is just around the corner. It’s only a matter of time before an opponent overcommits to the other two midfielders — as well as Chase Scanlan, Stephen Rehfuss and Owen Hiltz — which allows Trimboli to run wild.

Defensively, Syracuse showed a lot of promise with its second-half adjustments against the now-No. 1 Blue Devils. The Orange had some difficulties with Michael Sowers, but he’s the nation’s best player, and Notre Dame doesn’t have anyone of Sowers’ caliber. SU’s offense prevails and the defense grounds them as the Orange prevent back-to-back losses on Saturday.

Allie Kaylor (4-2)
Guess who’s back
Syracuse 15, Notre Dame 13

Although the Orange lost last week, a close game and good looks against the best team in the country showed, if nothing else, that they can hang around with the rest of the ACC. A bad week on faceoffs was complemented by one of the best defensive performances of the season for Syracuse, a culmination of weeks of improvements.

Maybe the defense won’t be as stellar against Notre Dame — but it doesn’t need to be. The Irish don’t have the star power of Sowers and Brennan O’Neill. Kavanagh likely won’t be a massive threat to a defense that is finally gelling together. And although UND has the best scoring defense in the country, it has plenty of tendencies the Orange can, and will, exploit.

Arabdho Majumder (4-2)
Fool me — you can’t get fooled again
Syracuse 16, Notre Dame 13

Without struggles at the faceoff X against Duke, Syracuse could very well have remained undefeated in conference play. As it is, the Orange are looking to avoid losing back-to-back regular season games for the first time in more than three years, and they’ll manage to do so.

Throughout his career, Jakob Phaup has only gone under 50% on faceoffs in consecutive games once. That happened in the postseason of 2019. This year, he bounced back from a 6-for-21 outing against Vermont by winning 16-of-25 draws the next game. Look for a similar bounce back against Notre Dame despite going against one of the top faceoff units in the nation.

The offense has already hit midseason form and kept the Orange in the game last week despite limited possessions, especially in the first half. Notre Dame brings in the No. 1 ranked scoring defense in the nation, but with a poor strength of schedule. And UND’s offense doesn’t have enough finishers to hang with the Orange in a shootout.

Published on March 31, 2021 at 9:45 pm