Beat writers split over Syracuse-Army matchup

No. 18 Syracuse (1-1) faces off against No. 15 Army (3-0) Sunday in the Carrier Dome. The Orange are coming off a resounding win over Albany, 13-5, and look to string together multiple wins to recover from a season-opening upset loss to then-unranked Colgate.

Here’s what our beat writers predicted for the outcome of the game.

Nick Alvarez (0-2)
Knighted
Army 11, Syracuse 7

It’s safe to say that Syracuse’s first two games were anomalies. The Orange were upset by Colgate in a historic opener and then Bradley Voigt stole the show against Albany with seven points. So barring any other Orange madness — like last year’s triple-overtime thriller between these two sides — the better team will win on Sunday. And that’s Army. The Black Knights have a top scoring duo in freshman in Brendan Nichtern (seven goals) and junior Miles Silva (eight scores), something the Orange is currently still seeking. SU goalie Drake Porter has been playing well, and the game will be close into the final frame, but Syracuse will fall to 1-2 and more panic will set in.

Andrew Graham (0-2)
Knight and day
Syracuse 10, Army 8

After two games, I’m still not sure what to make of this Syracuse team. There seems to be a good SU — which we saw against Albany — and the bad SU that turned in a clunker against Colgate to start the season. It’s hard to tell which shows up Sunday. I do know the No. 13 Black Knights have already notched wins on the road at then-No. 18 UMass and then-No. 8 Rutgers. A Tuesday win over Marist means the Black Knights roll into the Carrier Dome at 3-0 and are likely the best team Syracuse has faced thus far. But my gut tells me the good SU shows up Sunday. Drake Porter and the defense have been a steady force and with the emergence of Bradley Voigt, the offense appears to have more balance. It won’t be pretty, but good Syracuse will show up Sunday.

Michael McCleary (0-2)
The Knightman Leaveth
Syracuse 11, Army 9

Finally, a week where at least one of us will choose correctly. Army already has three solid wins under its belt. Many thought that Syracuse’s biggest challenge in the early going would be against Albany, but it’s clearly the Black Knights — the Great Danes just didn’t look that good. Army proved it is with its early-season schedule. But offense has hardly been the reason that the Black Knights have won their games, and the SU defense has proven to be one of the only units on the Orange’s roster that has legitimate staying power. But SU is starting to feel good about its offense, too, after last week’s performance. And understandably. Syracuse takes a close one in this matchup because this week is the week the Orange show that they’re far from the team that took the field in week one against Colgate, and some timely offense will help them prove that.