No. 7 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (4-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) hosts No. 5 Army (3-0, 0-0 Patriot League) on Wednesday in a top-10 matchup. SU attempts to pick up its second win of the season over a ranked team (No. 20 Colgate on 2/5)
Since the NCAA started sponsoring Lacrosse in 1971, the Orange are 24-10 against the Black Knights. Army beat Syracuse three times in a row from 1971-73, but that’s when SU took control of the series. The Orange went from then through 2020 having never lost consecutive games to the Black Knights. However, the past few seasons haven’t been as kind to the ‘Cuse.
Army has taken the last two meetings against Syracuse – and neither of those games were particularly close. The Black Knights won 18-11 in 2021 and followed that up with a 17-13 victory in 2022. After the latter loss, SU head coach Gary Gait said that he knew his team had the capability to be a top unit in the country.
“I believe that we’ve seen every game that they have the ability to play with anybody,” said Gait. “But they’ve got to put together 60 minutes – and we haven’t done that yet.”
Fast forward two years, and the ‘Cuse has realized the potential that Gait saw. The Orange are 4-1 so far this season and have ascended to the number 7 team in America. Syracuse is top-10 nationwide in goals scored per game and fewest goals allowed per game. SU put that dominance on full display in their last outing against Utah, which it won 18-7.
“You know, we got off to a bit of a slow start and then gave up a few at the end,” said Gait about the win. “But overall it was a great game and a good team effort.”
Utah managed to get two goals in, but on the other end, @CuseMLAX attacker Joey Spallina did not slow down. @Hudson_Ridley was on the mic for Spallina's third goal.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 21, 2024
🎙️88.3FM, https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/Z7rDul18RW
A team effort is a great way to describe the victory: 10 different players scored for the Orange and the team registered 10 assists. That level of unselfishness has been a hallmark of Syracuse through five games. SU is third in America with 11 assists per game, paced by a whopping 22 total from star sophomore Joey Spallina. But even though the ‘Cuse has gotten off to its best start under Gary Gait, the third-year coach knows he still has some things to figure out himself.
“As the competition increases and teams improve, we’ve got to make good decisions about who’s out there,” said Gait. “It’s a little different when you’re playing a top-five team as opposed to (Utah).”
Well, now Syracuse gets the challenge of facing the 5th ranked team in the nation when it welcomes Army to the Dome on Wednesday. After not meeting in 2023, the New York rivalry is set to be renewed at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. WAER’s coverage of the contest starts with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 5:30 p.m.