#1 Orange Hosts #25 Louisville, Yale

No. 1 Syracuse (9-0, 2-0 BIG EAST) vs. No. 25 Louisville (7-3, 1-0 BIG EAST)
Game Details	Saturday, Sept. 29 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| Noon J.S. Coyne Stadium \| Directions
Game Coverage	Watch \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse \| #cusefh
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
Louisville Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule

No. 1 Syracuse (9-0, 2-0 BIG EAST) vs. Yale (3-4, 1-1 Ivy)
Game Details	Sunday, Sept. 30 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 2 p.m. J.S. Coyne Stadium \| Directions
Game Coverage	Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse \| #cusefh
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
Yale Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule

Video Preview | YNN Preview & Irish Feature

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 1 ranked Syracuse field hockey team (9-0, 2-0 BIG EAST) hosts a pair of home games this weekend, vs. No. 25 Louisville (7-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) on Saturday at noon and against Yale (3-4) on Sunday a 2 p.m. at J.S. Coyne Stadium.
• The Orange is ranked No. 1 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll for the second time in program history and the first time since 2008. 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 road wins by way of shutout last weekend, at Rutgers, 6-0, and at No. 3 Princeton, 2-0.
• Syracuse is one of just two remaining undefeated teams in the NCAA Division I (Connecticut, 9-0) and the Orange is responsible for two of the remaining one-loss teams' only defeats.

GAME COVERAGE
• Saturday's game 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.

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 32-game home winning streak dating back to 2009.
• SU has outscored the opposition, 140-25, or an average score of 4.4-0.8, during the winning streak.
• Syracuse is 48-6 (.889) overall, including 34-4 (.895) in non-conference games and 14-2 (.875) in BIG EAST games, at home under Ange Bradley (since 2007).
• This season, SU is 4-0 at home and outscored its opponents, 19-3. 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 has started 9-0 for the second time in program history.
• The last time SU started 9-0 was in 2008 when it went on to start 14-0 on the way to a BIG EAST Championship and NCAA Final Four appearance.

TAKING OVER THE TOP SPOT
• Following its 2-0 win at No. 3 Princeton on Sunday, the Syracuse field hockey team (9-0) is ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time since 2008 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.
• 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 Sunday.
• Syracuse garnered 932 total points, including 25 first-place votes in this week's poll. The Orange is followed by No. 2 North Carolina (9-1) with 892 points and 22 first-place votes, No. 3 Princeton (7-1) with 822 points and No. 4 Maryland (7-1) with 784 points.
• 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 47 WEEKS
• The Orange has now been ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA poll for 47-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.

SERIES VS. LOUISVILLE
• Syracuse is 6-3 all-time against Louisville and has won the last four meetings.
• Last season, the Orange beat Louisville 2-1 at Trager Stadium when Leonie Geyer scored with 54 seconds remaining in overtime. Heather Susek scored early in the second half to negate a Erin Schneidtmiller's UofL goal.
• The last time the teams played in Syracuse was also an overtime SU win, 4-3, on Sept. 25, 2010. Martina Loncarica scored the winner while Lindsey Conrad scored twice and Geyer scored once for the Orange.
• Louisville's last win was 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 21, 2007 at Trager Stadium.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
• No. 25 Louisville comes into Saturday's game 7-3 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play. Last weekend, the Cardinals beat Georgetown at home in its conference opener, 4-2, and then beat Kent State on the road, 6-1.
• Besides Kent State, the Orange and Cardinals have one common opponent thus far, Ohio. Louisville beat the Bobcats, 2-1, on Sept. 8, while Syracuse beat them 6-0 on Aug. 26.
• Sophomore forward Becca Maddock leads the Cardinals with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Chilean freshman Elisa Garcia leads the team with four assists to go along with four goals and senior forward Amber Thomas adds five goals and an assist.
• Senior Erin Conrad has played every game in goal, posting a .730 save percentage and 1.64 goals against average with one shutout.
• Justine Sowry is in her second season as head coach of the Cardinals. She was a two-time NFHCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in four years as head coach at UMass. She is 1-5 against Syracuse in her career.

SERIES VS. YALE
• Syracuse is 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs as teams have played just twice, in 2007 and 2008.
• The most recent meeting, on Oct. 5, 2008, the Orange won 3-0 at Coyne Stadium on goals by Martina Loncarica, Shannon Taylor and Nicole Nelson.
• The first meeting in the series, on Oct. 14, 2007, was a 5-2 Orange win in New Haven, Conn. Jessica Lerew and Lelia Sacre each scored twiced for SU.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Yale comes into the weekend 3-4 overall and 1-1 in Ivy League play. It is coming off a 3-1 win at home vs. Sacred Heart last Sunday after falling to No. 3 Princeton, 8-0, on Saturday.
• Yale also has wins over Quinnipiac (3-2) and Harvard (2-1 OT).
• The Bulldogs open the weekend with an Ivy League game at Cornell on Saturday.
• Junior midfielder Erica Borgo leads the team with five points on two goals and one assist. Senior midfielder Mary Beth Barham has added two goals as well.
• Junior Emily Cain has played most of the minutes in goal for Yale. She is 3-4 with a 2.63 goals against average and a .760 save percentage.
• Head Coach Pam Stuper is in her eighth season at the helm. She is coming off a 2011 Ivy League Championship and has a record of 34-17 over the last three seasons heading into 2012.

BIG EAST DOMINANCE
• Syracuse's current senior class is 19-1 in BIG EAST Conference games, including perfect 6-0 marks in 2009 and 2010, and has outscored its conference foes, 97-23.
• The Orange is 27-5 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.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Syracuse is 37-51 against ranked teams since 2007, but is an impressive 11-4 in its last 15. SU is 4-0 against ranked teams 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.

ORANGE SLAYS NO. 3 TIGERS
• Leonie Geyer and Emma Russell scored second-half goals to lead No. 2 Syracuse to a 2-0 victory at No. 3 Princeton (7-1) on Sunday at Bedford Field as the Orange stayed undefeated on the season and beat its second top-three ranked opponent.
• The victory improved the Orange to 9-0 on the season and the loss was Princeton's first of the season, leaving Syracuse and Connecticut as the only unbeaten teams remaining in NCAA Division I.
• Senior goalkeeper Leann Stiver and the SU defense stymied the nation's top scoring offense and the nation's top scorer, Kathleen Sharkey (four shots). Stiver made six saves to earn her second-straight shutout.

SHUTOUT WIN AT RUTGERS
• Kelsey Millman scored two goals and Leann Stiver (four saves) recorded the shutout in goal to lead No. 2 Syracuse to a 6-0 victory at Rutgers (4-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) last Friday afternoon.
• Emma Russell, Lauren Brooks, Leonie Geyer and Liz McInerney also scored goals for the Orange as it stayed undefeated and is off to the second-best start in program history.
• The Orange outshot the Scarlet Knights, 17-9, and drew seven penalty corners to Rutgers' five.

STIVER STYMIES OFFENSES
• Senior goalkeeper and current BIG EAST and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week Leann Stiver is off to a hot start in 2012. She is 9-0 with a .839 save percentage and a 0.60 goals against average, allowing just five goals in 587 minutes and 11 seconds of play.
• Stiver entered the week ranked second in the NCAA in goals against average and third in save percentage.
• She has five shutouts on the season, two of which have come against the top two scoring offenses in the country, North Carolina and Princeton.
• 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 is currently the third-highest scoring offense in the country at 4.44 goals per game and is the second stingiest defense, allowing just 0.66 goals per game, combining to give Syracuse the second-best scoring margin in the NCAA (+3.74).
• The Orange defense, led by backs Anna Crumb, Laura Hahnefeldt and Iona Holloway, and anchored by goalkeeper Leann Stiver, has posted five shutouts this season, tied for most 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 (3.44) and Liz McInerney is tied for 19th-most individually with .67 per game.

BALANCED ATTACK
• Despite having the third highest scoring offense in the country, the Orange's top goal scorers, Lauren Brooks and Kelsey Millman with seven each, are tied for 25th on the NCAA goal scoring list.
• The Orange's 40 goals this season are spread over 11 different players, with nine having multiple goals and seven having three or more.
• SU's leading scorers (Brooks & Millman) each represent 17.5 percent of the team's scoring. By contrast, NCAA scoring leader Kathleen Sharkey of Princeton accounts for 47.2 percent of the Tigers' goals (17 of 36).

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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