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Despite two straight losses to No. 9 Maryland and No. 12 North Carolina, Syracuse fell only one spot in the latest Inside Lacrosse rankings, holding on to a ranked position at No. 20. The Orange have now fallen one spot in each of the last two weeks following close losses to ranked teams.

They returned home after a 15-12 loss to the Terrapins, who won 78% of their faceoffs and staved off each Syracuse comeback attempt, ultimately pulling away in the final five minutes. Then, against one of the best defenses in the country, the Orange fell to UNC 19-13, allowing the most goals all season. Syracuse’s defense was supposed to be — and had held up through three games — a veteran unit manned by Will Mark in net to help settle a young, retooled SU offense.

But the Tar Heels followed up a loss to Ohio State in which they scored just five goals with a relentless offensive effort led by Logan McGovern. The Orange struggled with turnovers and picking up ground balls, something head coach Gary Gait pointed out after the loss as a major area of improvement.

Syracuse welcomes No. 6 Duke to the JMA Wireless Dome on Sunday, who jumped up from No. 14 following a 14-12 win over No. 10 Pennsylvania. The Blue Devils are 4-1 and have only lost to No. 14 Jacksonville, collecting wins over Bellarmine, High Point and Denver.