Gary Gait didn’t mind interrupting.

Standing in a pack of reporters Wednesday afternoon, the Syracuse head coach was in the middle of being asked about facing the nation’s top offense in North Carolina.

Gait unabashedly stopped the interview to ask what his team was ranked in that category. The answer was second, right behind the Tar Heels.

“There you go,” Gait said with a smile. “One and two.”

On Saturday, the country’s two top offenses will go head-to-head at the Carrier Dome at 3 p.m. No. 3 Syracuse (12-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast) hosts defending national champion and top-ranked North Carolina (12-1, 5-0) with the top ranking in the ACC, and potentially the nation, on the line.

Syracuse averages 16.15 goals per game, while the Tar Heels find the cage 17.31 times a contest.

“Offensively, we’re really starting to click,” said SU attack Alyssa Murray. “I think that’s good, especially coming into a game where their offense can put up so many points, too.”

Murray said UNC has been on everyone’s minds since Syracuse defeated Virginia Tech on Saturday, and the team has had a “work week.”

At the beginning of practice Monday, the team did its “perfect passing drill.” Normally it’s an exhausting conditioning drill that the players hate. But Murray said everyone was excitedly cheering each other on.

“Even though we were out of breath,” Murray said, “but just the cheer and the support throughout the lines were just really loud. Everyone came to play.”

UNC lost its first game of the season to Northwestern on March 31. The Wildcats hardly allowed UNC to touch the ball in that game, using a slow, methodical approach to win 7-5.

Gait said that game exposed UNC’s youth, but that Saturday’s game should provide scoring rather than stalling and that his team will stick to its usual offensive approach.

“I don’t think we’re going to be playing that style of lacrosse that they played, certainly not in the regular season,” Gait said. “That’s something we try and stay away from. (Northwestern) certainly found a little chink in the armor.

“(UNC) can make mistakes and they can get frustrated.”

There is no denying that goals will be scored Saturday, and in all likelihood at an alarmingly high rate.

Natalie Glanell, one of SU’s top defenders, hopes to limit a prolific Tar Heel offense and said the best practice for facing UNC is facing Syracuse.

“We play against what we think is the best attack in the country,” she said. “When you practice against those players every single day that helps make you prepared to come out with a ‘W.’”

Gait said he’s used the Syracuse attack and midfield to simulate UNC’s dodge-heavy offense in practice. He’s pulling out all the stops in order to get this win.

Only one loss stains Syracuse’s record, a defeat at home to then-No. 3 Maryland on March 10.

As a result of UNC’s win over UMD on Saturday, a Syracuse win would put it in a three- way tie atop the conference standings — assuming a Terrapins victory over Virginia on Sunday — and possibly give the Orange the nation’s top rank.

But there’s no doubting it’s going to be tough to outscore a team that does it better than any other program.

“It’s not about what you have at this point, because we know what we have,” Gait said. “It’s about execution, it’s about having opportunities to make big plays in crucial situations.

“The team that comes out on top is going to be the one where the players stepped up and made shots.”

Published on April 9, 2014 at 11:10 pm

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