#2 Orange Hosts 'Nova, Kent State

No. 2 Syracuse (5-0) vs. Villanova (4-2)
Game Details	Friday, Sept. 14 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 4 p.m. J.S. Coyne Stadium \| Directions
Game Coverage	Watch \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse \| #cusefh
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
Villanova Links	Roster \| Schedule

No. 2 Syracuse (5-0) vs. Kent State (3-4)
Game Details	Sunday, Sept. 16 \| 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
Kent State Links	Roster \| Schedule

Video Preview | Coach Bradley Press Conference

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - No. 2 Syracuse field hockey (5-0) returns home to J.S. Coyne Stadium for a pair of home games this weekend. The Orange opens BIG EAST play on Friday against Villanova (4-2) and 4 p.m. and hosts Kent State (3-4) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
• The Orange are ranked No. 2 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll for the second week in a row. After grabbing the spot last week following a No. 7 preseason ranking, Syracuse is tied with Princeton for No. 2 this week.
• Villanova and Kent State will play each other at Coyne Stadium on Saturday at noon.
• As always, admission is free at Coyne Stadium.

GAME COVERAGE
• Both games will be webcast live on Orange All Access at SUAthletics.com.
• Free live stats of both games will also be available at SUathletics.com.
• Fans can also follow the games on Twitter.com/cuse, the official Twitter home of Syracuse Athletics, or search #cusefh.

SERIES VS. VILLANOVA
• Syracuse is 20-7 all-time against the Wildcats and has won the last six meetings by a combined score of 22-7.
• Last season, the Orange beat Villanova twice, 3-2 in Philadephia on Oct. 28 and 3-0 at Coyne Stadium in the BIG EAST semifinals on Nov. 4.
• Lauren Brooks, Martina Loncarica and Heather Susek tallied goals for SU in the regular season, with Leah High scoring both Villanova goals.
• It was Brooks, Iona Holloway and Kelsey Millman with the Orange goals in the BIG EAST Tournament game, while Stiver got the shutout in goal.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Villanova comes into the weekend 4-2 on the season and is coming off a 10-0 loss to No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday in Newark, Del. The WIldcats have wins over Robert Morris (2-0), Central Michigan (3-2 OT), La Salle (3-2) and St. Francis (Pa.) (2-1), while its other loss is to Rider (2-0).
• Kayla Kenney is the Wildcats' top scorer with three goals and one assist for seventh points on the season. She is followed by Leah High and Olivia Maggitti with two goals apiece.
• Alex Diekmann has received the decision in goal for all six games. She is 4-2 with a 3.33 goals against average and .712 save percentage with one shutout.
• Villanova is coming off an 8-11 season in 2011.
• Joanie Milhous is in her 18th season as head coach. The 1991 WIlliam & Mary alum is 176-155 in her career.

SERIES VS. KENT STATE
• Syracuse is 3-2 all-time against the Golden Flashes.
• The teams have met just once since 2005, a 2-1 overtime win by Kent State o n Sept. 4, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. Amy Kee netted SU's goal, while Carla Johl and Debbie Bell scored for the Golden Flashes.
• The last time the teams played at Coyne Stadium was a 4-3 Orange win on Sept. 9, 2005.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
• Kent State is 3-4 on the season and is coming off a 4-2 loss at home to Lock Haven on Sunday after opening the weekend with a 5-2 win vs. Robert Morris. Its other wins have come against James Madison (1-0) and Vermont (4-2), while the other losses have been to Indiana (5-3), Boston University (4-1) and Providence (6-2).
• Shannon Martin, Rebecca Lee and Julia Hoffman have four goals each, combining for 12 of Kent State's 18 goals on the season.
• Jahna Jordan has seen the bulk of the minutes in goal, posting a 3-4 record with a 3.24 goals against average and a .676 save percentage.
• Kent State is coming off a 8-13 season in 2011 in which it went 5-5 in the Mid-American Conference.
• Second-year Syracuse assistant coach Natalie Barrett is a 2009 graduate of Kent State. A four-year letterwinner, she helped lead the Golden Flashes to a 29-14 combined record her junior and senior seasons, including a 17-5 campaign that resulted in the MAC title and a NCAA play-in berth in 2008.
• Head coach Kathleen Wiler is in her seventh season. She has led Kent State to a combined MAC record of 30-10 over the last four seasons.

STRONG STARTERS
• The Orange has started 5-0 for the fifth time in program history and the third time in Ange Bradley's six seasons as head coach (2007, 2008).
• SU has started 6-0 three times and 7-0 once, in 2008 when the Orange had its best start in program history at 14-0.

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 30-game home winning streak dating back to 2009.
• SU has outscored the opposition, 128-22, or an average score of 4.3-0.7, during the winning streak.
• Syracuse is 45-5 (.900) overall, including 31-3 (.911) in non-conference games and 14-2 (.889) in BIG EAST games.
• This season, SU is 2-0 at home and outscored its opponents, 7-0. 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.

TWO STRAIGHT WEEKS AT NO. 2
• For the second week in a row, Syracuse is ranked No. 2 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. After taking over the second spot on Sept. 4, the Orange is tied with Princeton this week.
• Syracuse and Princeton each had 767 points, while getting eight and 15 first-place votes, respectively. No. 1 UNC garnered 790 points and 11 first-place votes.
• It is the Orange's highest ranking since being No. 1 on Oct. 14, 2008.
• The Orange was ranked No. 7 in the Aug. 21 preseason poll.
• Syracuse was ranked No. 2 in the poll for three weeks in a row in 2008 before taking over the No. 1 spot for the first time ever the following week.

TOP STREAK REACHES 45 WEEKS
• The Orange has now been ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA poll for 45-straight weeks, dating back to Aug. 28, 2008. Last season, SU debuted at No. 5 in the poll and held that position for nine of 11 weeks before finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the final poll.
• 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.

BIG EAST DOMINANCE
• Syracuse's current senior class is 17-1 in BIG EAST Conference games, including perfect 6-0 marks in 2009 and 2010, and outscored its conference foes, 86-21.
• The Orange is 25-5 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.

RUSSELL HONORED BY BIG EAST
• Freshman Emma Russell was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for her efforts in a pair of road wins against ranked teams for the No. 2 Orange.
• In Friday's comeback 3-2 victory at No. 24 New Hampshire, Russell set up classmate Alyssa Manley's game-winning goal with 54 seconds left with the first assist of her career.
• In Sunday's 2-0 shutout win at No. 12 Boston University, the Enniskerry, Ireland native scored Syracuse's insurance goal with 10:32 to go.
• This came after Russell took home BIG EAST Honor Roll honors on Sept. 3 for her overtime game-winning goal in the then-seventh-ranked Orange's 1-0 victory at home against then-No. 2 North Carolina.

'CUSE PASSES ROAD TESTS
• Alyssa Manley's first collegiate goal came at just the right time for Syracuse as the freshman scored with just 54 seconds remaining to give the Orange a 3-2 victory at No. 24 New Hampshire (1-3) on Friday.
• Gillian Pinder and Lauren Brooks also scored goals for Syracuse, while Emma Russell and Iona Holloway picked up assists.
• Jordan Page and Emma Russell scored second half goals 59 seconds apart to give Syracuse a 2-0 victory at No. 12 Boston University (4-1) in a match-up of undefeated teams on Sunday at Jordan Field.
Page broke the scoreless tie in the 59th minute on the rebound of the initial shot off a penalty corner and Russell made it 2-0 in the 60th minute when she took a pass in the middle of the circle from Lauren Brooks on her left and netted her third goal of the season.

STIVER STYMIES OFFENSES
• Senior goalkeeper Leann Stiver is off to a hot start in 2012. She is 5-0 with a stellar .833 save percentage and a 0.59 goals against average, allowing just three goals in 353 minutes and 10 seconds of play.
• Stiver entered the week ranked third in the NCAA in goals against average and fifth in save percentage.
• 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.

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