#3 Orange Battles #4 UConn on Senior Day

No. 3 Syracuse (15-1, 5-0) vs. No. 4 Connecticut (16-1, 5-0)
Game Details	Saturday, Oct. 27 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 1 p.m. J.S. Coyne Stadium \| Directions
Game Coverage	Watch \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse \| #cusefh
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
UConn Links	Roster \| Schedule

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 3 ranked Syracuse field hockey team (15-1, 5-0 BIG EAST) concludes the regular season on Saturday when it hosts No. 4 Connecticut (16-1, 5-0 BIG EAST) with the BIG EAST regular season title on the line on Senior Day at J.S. Coyne Stadium at 1 p.m.
• The winner of Saturday's game will receive the top seed in next weekend's BIG EAST Championship at Louisville's Trager Stadium.
• The Orange is ranked No. 3 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll for the second week after spending three consecutive weeks at No. 1. After a No. 7 preseason ranking, Syracuse was ranked No. 2 for three weeks in a row previously.
• Syracuse is coming off wins against Georgetown (7-2) and No. 16 Boston College (4-2) last week, while Connecticut is coming off its first loss of the season, 4-1, at No. 2 Princeton on Sunday.

GAME COVERAGE
• Saturday's game will be webcast live on Orange All Access at SUAthletics.com, as well as with free live stats.
• Fans can also follow the Orange on Twitter.com/cuse, the official Twitter home of Syracuse Athletics, or search #cusefh, as well as on Facebook at Facebook.com/SUfieldhockey.

SENIOR DAY
• Just prior to Saturday's game, Syracuse will honor its 2012 senior class for all they have done for the program and the University. The six-member class consists of Haley Bomboy, Iona Holloway, Amy Kee, Liz McInerney, Kelsey Millman and Leann Stiver.

BRADLEY REACHES MILESTONE
• Head Coach Ange Bradley recorded her 100th win at Syracuse with a 4-1 victory vs. No. 13 Stanford on Oct. 12 in Amherst, Mass., reaching the milestone in just her 123rd game, making her the second-fastest in Syracuse history in any current varsity sport behind men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim (117 games) and ahead of the men's lacrosse coach John Desko (133 games).
• Now in her sixth season with the Orange, Bradley is 237-84-2 overall in her 16-year career.

ORANGE-HOT AT HOME
• The Orange has been dominating at J.S. Coyne Stadium since sixth-year head coach Ange Bradley took the reins in 2007 as it currently rides a 35-game home winning streak dating back to 2009.
• SU has outscored the opposition, 152-27, or an average score of 4.3-0.8, during the winning streak.
• Syracuse is 51-6 (.895) overall, including 36-4 (.900) in non-conference games and 15-2 (.882) in BIG EAST games, at home under Ange Bradley (since 2007).
• This season, SU is 7-0 at home and outscored its opponents, 31-5. In 2011, Syracuse went 13-0 at home and outscored the opposition, 65-9.
• SU's last home loss was on Sept. 6, 2009 vs. No. 7 Princeton, 3-2, in overtime.

STRONG STARTERS
• The Orange started the season 12-0, the second-best start in program history.
• The last time SU started 12-0 was in 2008 when it went on to start 14-0 on the way to a BIG EAST Championship and NCAA Final Four appearance.

ORANGE AT NO. 3
• Syracuse is ranked No. 3 for the second straight week in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll after spending the previous three weeks at No. 1. The Orange received 854 points and three first-place votes this week, behind No. 1 North Carolina (981 points, 40 first-place votes) and No. 2 Princeton (936 points, seven first-place votes). No. 4 Connecticut garnered 775 points.

TOP STREAK REACHES 51 WEEKS
• The Orange has now been ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA poll for 51-straight weeks, dating back to Aug. 28, 2008.
• The Orange was ranked No. 1 for three weeks this season after spending three weeks at No. 2 and debuting at No. 7 in the preseason poll.
• Syracuse was No. 5 in the preseason poll in 2011 and spent nine of 11 weeks in that fifth position before finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the final poll.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Syracuse is a perfect 7-0 against ranked teams this season.
• Syracuse is 40-51 against ranked teams since 2007, but is an impressive 14-4 in its last 18. SU is 7-0 in 2012 and was 7-4 last season, including a 3-2 win over No. 4 Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship game.
• The Orange is 17-31 against top 10 teams since 2007.

SERIES VS. CONNECTICUT
• Syracuse is 8-26-1 all-time against Connecticut, but the Orange has had the upper hand in recent years, winning five of the last seven match-ups.
• The Orange and Huskies met twice last season, a 3-2 double-overtime UConn win on Oct. 23 and a 3-2 Syracuse victory on Nov. 6 in the BIG EAST Championship.
• In the regular season game in Storrs, Marie Elena Bolles scored in the second OT to give No. 4 UConn the win over No. 6 Syracuse. Iona Holloway and Kelsey Millman scored the Orange goals.
• In the BIG EAST Championship at Coyne Stadium, SU built a 3-0 lead in the first 19 minutes with goals from Lauren Brooks, Liz McInerney and Martina Loncarica, before winning 3-2. All of the games goals were scored in the first 26 minutes as the teams battled to a scoreless second half.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
• Connecticut is 16-1 overall and 5-0 in the BIG EAST. It is ranked No. 4 in the country this week.
• The Huskies were the last undefeated team standing in the country before falling at No. 2 Princeton, 4-1, on Sunday. They defeated No. 16 Boston College, 5-1, in Chestnut Hill last Thursday.
• Graduate student defender Louisa Boddy is the Huskies' top scorer. The penalty corner specialist has 14 goals and five assists for 33 points on the season.
• Sophomore forward Chloe Hunnable has 30 points on 10 goals and 10 assists, while junior forward Marie Elena Bolles has 28 points on 11 goals and six assists. Bolles leads the team with six game-winning goals.
• Senior goalie Sarah Mansfield is 16-1 with a 0.89 goals against average, which is second in the country to SU's Leann Stiver, a .815 save percentage and six shutouts.
• Nancy Stevens is in her 23rd season as head coach at Connecticut and 34th overall. She ranks second among active coaches in wins (551) and has led the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament in 15 of the last 16 seasons.

BIG EAST DOMINANCE
• Syracuse's current senior class is 22-1 in BIG EAST Conference games, including perfect 6-0 marks in 2009 and 2010, and has outscored its conference foes, 110-25.
• The Orange is 30-5 in BIG EAST games under Ange Bradley.
• Syracuse won its sixth BIG EAST Championship tournament title on Nov. 6 with a 3-2 victory against Connecticut. After going 5-1 in BIG EAST play during the regular season, the Orange secured the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
• SU shutout No. 3 seed Villanova in the semifinals, 3-0 before defeating top-seeded Connecticut, 3-2, in the championship game.
• Syracuse has also won seven BIG EAST regular season championships, the last coming in 2010.

FRESHMEN TAKE BIG EAST HONORS
• Following a two-goal, three-assist week in which she helped No. 3 Syracuse to a pair of wins, freshman Gillian Pinder was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week by the conference office on Monday. Fellow freshman Alyssa Manley was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll.
• Pinder recorded seven points to lead the Orange to two victories last week, scoring two goals and adding three assists. The freshman scored factored in all four Syracuse goals in a 4-2 win vs. No. 16 Boston College on Sunday, scoring twice, including the game-winner and assisting on the other two goals. Pinder began the weekend with an assist in a 7-2 win at Georgetown on Friday.
• Pinder is the third different Syracuse player to take Offensive Player of the Week honors, joining Liz McInerney (Sept. 17) and Kelsey Millman (8/27).
• Manley was named to the honor roll for the second time this season after being a key member of the Orange defense in its two wins, making many critical tackles and forcing several turnovers. The midfielder also recorded an assist against No. 16 Boston College on Sunday.

ORANGE GROUNDS EAGLES
• Freshmen Gillian Pinder and Emma Russell scored two goals each to lead No. 3 Syracuse field hockey (15-1) to a 4-2 victory over No. 16 Boston College (9-8) on Sunday afternoon at J.S. Coyne Stadium, running the Orange's home winning streak to 35 games.
• Pinder had a career day, assisting on both of Russell's goals to give the freshman a career-high six points on the day as she factored in all of the Orange's goals. Her six-point game is Syracuse's first since Kelsey Millman in the season opener at Monmouth on Aug. 24.

SYRACUSE LEASHES HOYAS
• Lauren Brooks scored two goals to lead No. 3 Syracuse to a 7-2 victory against Georgetown last Friday afternoon at the University of Maryland Field Hockey Complex.
• Freshman Sarah Clark scored the first goal of her collegiate career, while junior defender Laura Hahnefeldt tallied her first of the season and second of her career.
• Leann Stiver made two saves in the first half, while Jess Jecko made two stops in the second half for the Orange.
• Syracuse held a 34-7 advantage in shots and a 15-5 edge in penalty corners.

STIVER STYMIES OFFENSES
• Senior goalkeeper Leann Stiver has firmly established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country in 2012. She is 15-1 with a .810 save percentage and a 0.74 goals against average, allowing just 11 goals in 1,042 minutes and 11 seconds of play.
• Stiver leads the NCAA in goals against average and shutouts (8), and ranks fourth in save percentage.
• She has eight shutouts on the season, two of which have come against the top two scoring offenses in the country, North Carolina and Princeton.
• Stiver shutout five opponents in row between Sept. 21 and Oct. 6, posting a streak of 437 minutes and 19 seconds of consecutive shutout play.
• With SU's 1-0 overtime win vs. No. 2 North Carolina (9/1), Stiver became the first goalie since 2009 to shut out the Tar Heels.
• The Amherst, N.Y. native entered the season as the NCAA active leader in career save percentage and in the top five in goals against average.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
• Syracuse ranks among the nation's best in several statistical categories. The Orange currently boasts the best defense in the country, allowing just 0.81 goals per game, and has the sixth-highest scoring offense in the country at 4.19 goals per game, combining to give Syracuse the third-best scoring margin in the NCAA (+3.36).
• The Orange defense, led by backs Anna Crumb, Laura Hahnefeldt and Iona Holloway, and anchored by goalkeeper Leann Stiver, has posted eight shutouts this season, tops in the country, and at one point had five in a row. Two shutouts have come against the top two scoring teams in the country (UNC & Princeton).
• Moving the ball is the name of the game for the Orange offense as it ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in assists per game (3.25).

BALANCED ATTACK
• Despite having the sixth highest scoring average in the country (3.98 goals), the Orange does not have an individual goal-scorer in the NCAA top 40. Its top scorers, Kelsey Millman and Lauren Brooks with 10 goals each, are tied for 46th on the NCAA goal scoring list.
• There are not one or two threats that opposing defenses can focus on when facing Syracuse. The Orange's 67 goals this season are spread over 13 different players, with nine having four or more.
• SU's leading scorers, Millman and Brooks, each represent 14.9 percent of the team's scoring. By contrast, NCAA scoring leader Kathleen Sharkey of Princeton (1.64 goals per game) accounts for 34.8 percent of the Tigers' goals (23 of 55).

CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME LISTS
• Several of the Orange are solidifying their spots among the best in program history.
• WIth 86 career points, senior Kelsey Millman is currently ninth in program history. Next up is No. 8 Kelly Hambleton (1996-99) with 89.
• With 28 career assists, junior Leonie Geyer is currently tied for fifth all-time at SU with Julie Williamson (1991-94). Next up is Sherri Magsam (1986-89) in four place with 34.
• Senior goalie Leann Stiver has 20 shutouts in her career, ranking fourth all-time at Syracuse. Audrey Latsko (1999-02) is third with 21. Stiver's career goals against average of 1.08 is the second-best in program history, behind Cheri Herr's (1992-95) 1.00.
• Stiver's eight shutouts this season is tied for the fourth-highest single-season total in SU history.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
• The 2012 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship will be played in Louisville, Ky. at Trager Stadium on Nov. 2 and 4.
• Semifinal games will be played on Friday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. and 7 :30 p.m. The championship game will take place on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. The winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
• Live video and stats of all games will be available online at BIGEAST.org.
• The NCAA Selection Show will air live online at NCAA.com on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.

FOLLOW ORANGE FIELD HOCKEY
• Fans can receive up-to-the-minute updates and news on Syracuse field hockey by following the "liking" the Orange on Facebook (Facebook.com/SUfieldhockey) or on the SUAthletics Twitter page @Cuse and by searching #cusefh.

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