Syracuse men’s lacrosse (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) kept its foot on the gas in its second week of play, defeating Saint Joseph’s (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) 20-2 the highest scoring game for the Orange since last season's opener.
“I think we improved on every aspect of the game,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “Just really happy with the total team effort.”
It was an offensive beatdown in No. 3 @CuseMLAX's 20-2 win over @SJUHawks_MLax. It was the first time in over a year the Orange scored 20 goals.@alex_burstein and @DanPapillo were on the call inside the Dome. pic.twitter.com/eBBiPn2PDw
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 7, 2026
Syracuse attackman Joey Spallina had an electric performance for the second straight game. The senior notched four goals and four assists, passing his head coach Gary Gait in the all time points record. Spallina is now only 48 points away from overtaking Mike Powell as the all time career points leader for SU.
“Joey puts in more hard work than anybody,” said head coach Gary Gait. “I’m certainly proud of him and what he’s been able to do.”
But it wasn’t all perfect for the Orange. Syracuse and the reigning defensive player of the week, John Mullen, struggled at the X briefly. At halftime Saint Joseph’s was winning the faceoff battle 7-6. However, after the break Mullen looked more like himself helping SU win the faceoff contest 16-10. But, giving up ten possessions to the Hawks is concerning because they were the worst faceoff team in the Atlantic 10 last season, winning only 40% of the time at the X.
Syracuse goalkeeper Jimmy McCool on the other hand played lights out against Saint Joseph’s. The senior tallied ten saves on 13 shots on goal. Eight of those saves came in the first half when McCool fended off nearly all nine of Saint Joseph’s on goal attempts.
“I’m only focused on the next shot.” McCool said. “It could go in or it could be a save on the last one, but the only thing I’m focused on is the next shot.”
The same can’t be said for the Hawks goalie Tommy Gross. The senior gave up 18 goals, only tallying two saves against the Orange. SU capitalized off of that with 11 different scorers against the Hawks. Syracuse has a tall task ahead of it when it welcomes in its next opponent No. 1 Maryland on Friday, game time for that contest is at 2:30 p.m. WAER’s live coverage starts with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 2:00 p.m. on 88.3 FM and waer.org.