Top-Ranked Orange Invades Providence

No. 1 Syracuse (11-0, 3-0 BIG EAST) at Providence (5-5, 1-0 BIG EAST)
Game Details	Saturday, Oct. 6 \| Providence, R.I. \| Noon Lennon Family Field \| Directions
Game Coverage	Watch \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse \| #cusefh
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
Providence Links	Roster \| Schedule

Video Preview

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 1 ranked Syracuse field hockey team (11-0, 3-0 BIG EAST) heads to Providence, R.I. to face the Friars (5-5, 1-0 BIG EAST) on Saturday at noon.
• The Orange is ranked No. 1 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll for consecutive weeks for the first time in program history. After a No. 7 preseason ranking, Syracuse was ranked No. 2 for three weeks in a row previously.
• Syracuse is coming off a pair of victories last weekend that ran its home winning streak to 34 games, against No. 25 Louisville (3-0) and Yale (5-0).
• Syracuse is one of just two remaining undefeated teams in the NCAA Division I (Connecticut, 12-0), and is responsible for the lone loss of two out of the three one-loss teams in the country.

GAME COVERAGE
• Saturday's game will be webcast live on Friars All Access at Friars.com.
• A link to free live stats is available at SUathletics.com.
• Fans can also follow the 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.

STRONG STARTERS
• The Orange has started 11-0 for the second time in program history.
• The last time SU started 11-0 was in 2008 when it went on to start 14-0 on the way to a BIG EAST Championship and NCAA Final Four appearance.

TWO WEEKS AT NO. 1
• For the first time in program history, Syracuse is ranked No. 1 in the country for consecutive weeks.
• Following its 2-0 win at No. 3 Princeton on Sept. 23, the Syracuse field hockey team took over the No. 1 ranking in the country for the first time since 2008 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll released on Sept. 24.
• The Orange had been ranked No. 2 for three straight weeks following its 1-0 overtime win over then-No. 2 North Carolina on Sept. 1, but head coach Ange Bradley's squad takes over the top spot from those same Tar Heels after knocking another top-three opponent from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 2-0 win at No. 3 Princeton on Sept. 23.
• Syracuse garnered 1,052 total points this week, including 35 first-place votes. The Orange is followed by No. 2 North Carolina (12-1) with 1,019 points and 14 first-place votes and No. 3 Connecticut (11-0) with 905 points and five first-place votes.
• It is the Orange field hockey team's first No. 1 ranking since Oct. 14, 2008 when it reached the top spot for the first time in program history when it was 14-0 and the only undefeated team in the country. Syracuse finished that season 22-2 overall with a Final Four appearance.
• The last Syracuse program to be ranked No. 1 in a major poll was men's basketball holding the top spot in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls from Dec. 12, 2011 to Jan. 16, 2012.

TOP STREAK REACHES 48 WEEKS
• The Orange has now been ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA poll for 48-straight weeks, dating back to Aug. 28, 2008.
• The Orange was ranked No. 7 in the preseason and climbed to second for three weeks and has been No. 1 for two weeks.
• Syracuse debuted at No. 5 in the poll in 2011 and spent nine of 11 weeks in that fifth position before finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the final poll.

SERIES VS. PROVIDENCE
• Syracuse is 19-7-5 all-time against Providence and has won the last six meetings.
• Last season, the Orange beat Providence, 8-0, at home on Sept. 30. Leonie Geyer scored twice, while Kelsey Millman had a goal and three assists and Liz McInerney assisted on three goals as well. The Orange outshot the Friars, 31-0.
• The last time the teams played in Providence was Oct. 2, 2010 with the Orange winning, 3-0. Martina Loncarica scored twice and McInerney added a goal. Syracuse held a 16-2 shot advantage.
• PC's last win in the series was on Oct. 12, 2007 in Providence, 3-2.

SCOUTING THE FRIARS
• Providence comes into the game with a 5-5 overall record and a 1-0 mark in BIG EAST play.
• The Friars most recently lost at Dartmouth on Wednesday, 3-1. That loss combined with losses against Boston College (3-2) and Connecticut (4-2) give PC three losses in a row after having won five straight.
• The Friars have two common opponents with Syracuse, Boston University (L, 1-0 OT) and Kent State (W, 6-2).
• Providence has three players with five goals each: Caitlin Malone, Henni Tietze and Steph Guglielmo. Kaliegh Fitzpatrick leads the club with six assists.
• Senior goalkeeper Kathi Weidman has seen the bulk of the minutes between the pipes, posting a 4-3 record, 2.29 goals against average and .679 save percentage.
• Diane Madl is in her 11th season as head coach. The 1989 Connecticut alum has led the Friars into the BIG EAST Tournament in four of the last six seasons.

BIG EAST DOMINANCE
• Syracuse's current senior class is 20-1 in BIG EAST Conference games, including perfect 6-0 marks in 2009 and 2010, and has outscored its conference foes, 100-23.
• The Orange is 28-5 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.

STIVER STYMIES OFFENSES
• Senior goalkeeper Leann Stiver is off to the hottest start in the country in 2012. She is 11-0 with a .839 save percentage and a 0.48 goals against average, allowing just five goals in 727 minutes and 11 seconds of play.
• Stiver leads the NCAA in both goals against average, by over a third of a goal, and in save percentage.
• She has seven shutouts on the season, two of which have come against the top two scoring offenses in the country, North Carolina and Princeton.
• Stiver has shut out the last four opponents, running her streak without allowing a goal to 311 minutes, dating back to Sept. 16.
• 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 0.54 goals per game, and has the third-highest scoring offense in the country at 4.33 goals per 70 minutes played, combinging to give Syracuse the second-best scoring margin in the NCAA (+3.79).
• The Orange defense, led by backs Anna Crumb, Laura Hahnefeldt and Iona Holloway, and anchored by goalkeeper Leann Stiver, has posted seven shutouts this season, two more than anyone else in the country. Two of those 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. 4 in the NCAA in assists per game (3.45) and Liz McInerney is tied for 14th-most individually with .73 per game.

BALANCED ATTACK
• Despite having the third highest scoring average in the country (4.33 goals), the Orange does not have an individual goal-scorer in the NCAA top 25. Its top scorers, Lauren Brooks and Kelsey Millman with eight and seven, respectively, are tied for 30th and 44th 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 48 goals this season are spread over 11 different players, with nine having multiple goals and seven having five or more. The seven players with five or more goals matches last season when the Orange scored 87 total goals.
• SU's leading scorer, Brooks, represents 16.7 percent of the team's scoring. By contrast, NCAA scoring leader Kathleen Sharkey of Princeton accounts for 43.2 percent of the Tigers' goals (19 of 44).

PAGE & PINDER HONORED
• After a 2-0 week with both wins coming by way of shutout, Jordan Page and Gillian Pinder were honored with weekly awards by the BIG EAST on Monday.
• An integral part to the Orange defense that did not allow a goal in wins over No. 25 Louisville (3-0) and Yale (5-0), Page was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.
• Pinder was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for her efforts in helping fuel an Orange offense that scored eight goals in two games. The freshman midfielder scored two goals and assisted on another in Sunday's 5-0 win vs. Yale.

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.

Syracuse University Athletics

Next Event

Related Videos