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Series Info

All Time vs. Syracuse: 0-4 • At VT: 0-1 • At SU: 0-2 • Neutral: 0-1

Notes: The Hokies face off against Syracuse for the first time since 2004 ... The Orange have claimed each of the four all-time meetings, which all came as BIG EAST opponents ... Syracuse has been ranked every time the two teams have met, and has held a top-10 ranking twice in the series.

Scouting Syracuse

The Orange enter the weekend at 11-1 on the season, also boasting a No. 3 ranking in both national polls. Syracuse defeated No. 18 Albany, 13-11, at home on Tuesday. The Orange began the year with six straight wins, but fell to then-No. 3 Maryland at the Carrier Dome. Currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak, the squad has knocked off seven ranked opponents this year, including five top-10 teams.

Kayla Treanor leads the team with 40 goals and 24 assists, ranking among the top 17 in the nation in every offensive category. Alyssa Murry has tallied 29 goals and 24 assists, and also ranks among the country’s best in points and assists.

Kasey Mock leads the defensive efforts for the Orange with 21 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. In cage for Syracuse has mainly been Kelsey Richardson, who boasts a 7-1 record and has made 38 saves on the season, allowing just 8.86 goals per game.

Hokie Notes

-- Junior Meg Bartley set a new career and team season high against Liberty on Wednesday, scoring six goals in the win.

-- Junior Megan Will broke onto Tech’s all-time scoring list with four goals against Coastal Carolina and the points list with three goals at No. 1 North Carolina. She scored the 100th goal of her career at Old Dominion.

-- Junior Cawley Bromley had a career game at William & Mary, scoring three goals and finishing with four points and made it back-to-back four-point games against Coastal.

-- Against No. 6 Duke, the Hokie defense forced the Blue Devils into a season-high 18 turnovers with their average of 10 coming in the first half, also holding them to a season-low four first-half goals.

-- Entering the week, two Hokies rank among the top 30 in the nation in their respective categories. Junior Meg Bartley ranks the highest of the pair, tied for 13th in the country averaging 5.27 draws per game.

-- Redshirt senior Julia Heaps set a career high with five goals and seven points in the season opener at James Madison.

-- Redshirt senior Julia Heaps became the second Hokie on the 2014 roster to rank among the all-time best as her three assists against High Point broke her onto the list.

-- Junior Meg Bartley is the only player to have scored in every game so far this season.

-- In this week’s polls, seven of Tech’s opponents are ranked nationally, with another receiving votes.

-- Seniors Julia Heaps, Kelly Naslonski, Lindsay Roche and Becca Niles captain the Hokies this season.

-- Tech welcomed 10 freshmen this season, as well as two new assistant coaches.

Last Time Out

Junior Meg Bartley had a career day on the offensive end, putting away six goals to help lead the Virginia Tech lacrosse team to an 18-7 win over the Liberty Flames at Thompson Field. Megan Will also impressed with five goals in the game.

Bartley and Will wasted no time getting things going for Tech. Will brought a Liberty turnover caused by Meghan Macera all the way down the field to find Bartley near the cage for a quick turn-and-shoot to get the Hokies on the board before firing in a goal of her own just over a minute later.

Julia Heaps sparked an 8-0 run for the Hokies with an unassisted goal. Bartley, Will and Macera each scored two goals in the run, while Cawley Bromley also added to Tech’s running total.

The Hokies finished the game outshooting Liberty 36-16 as they matched their season high for goals in a game, which has been done three times this year. With the 17-10 draws edge in the game, Bartley neared a career best in that category as well, winning seven.

The Nation’s Elite

Entering the week of play, two Hokies rank among the top players in the nation in their respective categories. Junior Meg Bartley boasts the highest ranking, as she is 13th with a 5.27 draws average. Junior Megan Will is tied for 14th in the country with 47 points so far this year, while also ranking 21st with 4.27 points per game and 31 goals.

Against The Best

Being in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hokies play a number of the nation’s best teams and players on a weekly basis. Tech has already faced four ranked opponents this season, and hosts No. 3 Syracuse on Saturday. All seven of Tech’s conference opponents rank in the top 20 in both polls with six of them ranking in the top 10.

Although Tech is just 5-77 against ranked opponents, the Hokies have knocked off two ranked opponents in two of the last three seasons.

Record Watch

Junior Meg Bartley has already broken into the all-time top 10, and ranks third with 177 career draws. She has also made her second notch on the single-seasons draw list, ranking second with 69 last year.

Redshirt senior Julia Heaps broke into the all-time assists list against High Point earlier this year. She currently ranks sixth all-time with 43.

Junior Megan Will’s 42 goals last season landed her on the single-season scoring list, ranking seventh. She broke into the all-time career scoring list against Coastal Carolina and is currently 8th all-time with 108 career goals and 143 career points. Will needs just one asssit to crack the top-10.

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