In regular-season finale, No. 6 Syracuse men’s lacrosse eyes upset of No. 2 Virginia

As a whirlwind regular season winds down, No. 6 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (10-4, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) faces one more challenge before postseason play: No. 4 Virginia (10-2, 1-1 ACC).

Plus, SU gets a chance to honor a program legend. Paul Gait, the brother of head coach Gary Gait, gets his number 19 jersey retired at halftime. Gait won three national titles in his four-year career with Syracuse, and totaled more than 200 points.

This season, the Orange have checked plenty of boxes. SU has already earned its first top-five win under Gary Gait. It’s already clinched the program’s first 10-win season since 2017. And it’s already locked up a bid in the ACC Tournament in early May.

Saturday’s game, however, presents a chance to slay a college lacrosse giant. In the last three seasons, UVA owns a combined 35-10 record. In the last five, the Hoos won a pair of national titles. The last time Syracuse beat Virginia was in 2021.

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SU’s past two games — a double-overtime loss at No. 13 Cornell on April 2 and a one-goal win at North Carolina last weekend — have both featured late-game slides. Against the Big Red, the Orange held a six-goal lead at the midpoint of the third quarter, then scored just once in the last 29 minutes. In Chapel Hill on Saturday, UNC scored the game’s final five goals and turned a six-goal SU advantage into a 10-9 game.

“We still have work to do at finishing games, and we’ll get better at that,” Gait said.

Notably, both of SU’s latest stagnant end-of-game stretches came without offensive coordinator Pat March. The fifth-year OC was ejected in the first quarter against Cornell, and therefore automatically suspended from coaching against North Carolina.

“I did my best out there,” Gait said after downing the Tar Heels. “But it’ll be good to have [March] back with us.”

March’s return to the sidelines comes at the right time, because his offense faces the daunting task of keeping up with Virginia’s high-powered attack. Headlined by a top line featuring reigning Tewaaraton Award finalist Connor Shellenberger, preseason All-American Peyton Cormier, and second-ranked freshman recruit McCabe Millon, UVA boasts the fifth-best scoring offense in the nation.

Shellenberger and defenseman Cole Kastner were both named among the 25 Tewaaraton Award nomiees on Thursday. Syracuse attackman Joey Spallina and goalkeeper Will Mark also earned nominee recognition.

UVA head coach Lars Tiffany — a Central New York native — leads his team back into familiar territory Saturday. He grew up in LaFayette, less than 20 minutes from SU’s campus, and grew a love for lacrosse by watching Syracuse play.

“I bled a different kind of Orange then,” Tiffany said. “It’s really special for me.”

On Saturday, Tiffany gets a chance to earn his fourth straight win over the team he grew up watching. WAER’s coverage of the game begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 1:30 p.m. Opening draw is set for 2 p.m.