No. 10 Syracuse at Lock Haven: Friday | August 30 | 3 p.m. | Lock Haven, Pa. | Charlotte E. Smith Field
Watch Live: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Click Here
No. 10 Syracuse at No. 16 Penn State: Sunday | September 1 | Noon | University Park, Pa. | Field Hockey Complex
Watch Live: BTN+
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter:@CuseFH
Instagram: @CuseFH
Syracuse Links: Notes|News|Roster |Schedule
Lock Haven Links:Notes |News| Roster| Schedule
Penn State Links:Notes |News| Roster| Schedule
- It's Team 52's time to shine as the Syracuse Orange return to the pitch for 2024.
- The Orange boast 14 returners from last season's team, which reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for a third-straight season, the longest active quarterfinal streak in the ACC.
- Joining Syracuse this fall are 12 newcomers carrying various levels of experience - from six true freshman on up to three graduate students.
- Hitting the road straight away has become a staple of the Syracuse schedule as the Orange open their third-straight season with a pair of games away from J.S. Coyne Stadium. Syracuse hasn't opened a campaign at home since the 2021 season - a resounding 7-0 win over Sacred Heart and a 6-0 clean sheet against Vermont.
- Syracuse will be looking to continue its season opening run of success, hunting its fourth-straight win to open a year. Excluding the unique 2020-21 season, Syracuse has won its opener every year since 2007 - a stretch of 16 straight victories in the lidlifter.
- There was little doubt left after the 2024 season that the ACC is THE force in college field hockey as the league went a clean 5-0 during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with three of the four semifinal teams from the ACC, including the eventual champion.
- The only other conferences with representatives in the NCAA Quarterfinals were the B1G (Northwestern, Maryland), and the Ivy League (Harvard).
- This year, the ACC becomes a bicoastal conference as California and Stanford are set to begin play in the league after long stints in the America East Conference and the field hockey specific NorPac.
- The 2024 ACC Championship tournament will be held at Wake Forest University from November 5 until the title clash on Friday, November 8.
- It's been a minute since Syracuse and Lock Haven have met on the field hockey field - a series that dates back to 1981, but hasn't been contested since 1988.
- The Orange are 1-3 all-time against Lock Haven, winning the last showdown 3-2 in Syracuse on October 30, 1988.
- Syracuse and Lock Haven meet in Central Pennsylvania for the first time since 1987 and 1986, both 1-0 wins for the homestanding Eagles.
- On the converse, Syracuse and Penn State have met far more frequently, especially in the last three years.
- Sunday's meeting will be the 32nd all-time between the Orange and the Nittany Lions, with Syracuse riding a five-game winning streak in the series.
- Penn State leads the history, however, with a 24-6-1 all-time record against Syracuse dating back to the 1983 season.
- Syracuse collected a 2-1 water-logged win last fall in the driving rain in University Park, Pennsylvania. Then a rookie, Hattie Madden chipped in the game's only assist for either side, feeding Pieke van de Pas early in the second half.
- On the cusp of opening the 2024 season, Syracuse University field hockey was ranked 10th in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
- Fresh off a third-straight NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal berth, Syracuse landed in the 10 spot with 512 total points.
- The Orange will face three of the top five teams in the preseason poll: No. 2 North Carolina with 899 points and 17 first-place votes, No. 3 Virginia with 783 points and a pair of top selections and No. 5 Duke, which garnered 714 points. Northwestern was the top pick with 918 points and 27 first-place votes, and No. 4 Maryland with 771 points and the two outstanding first-place nods.
- Seven of the nine teams in the ACC were ranked this week: No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Virginia, No. 5 Duke, No. 7 Louisville, No. 10 Syracuse, No. 17 Boston College, and No. 18 Wake Forest.
- All told, the Orange will face nearly half of the teams ranked in the preseason poll. In addition to the ACC slate, Syracuse takes on No. 14 Ohio State in its home opener on Sept. 8, No. 15 Princeton on Oct. 6, and No. 16 Penn State this Sunday, Sept. 1. Additionally, Syracuse most recently scrimmaged a Rutgers team ranked ninth in the preseason poll with 524 points.
