The first three games of the season for No. 2 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (3-0, 0-0 ACC) have been a dominant display, with the Orange outscoring opponents 55-17. However, the real test begins this weekend as SU hits the road for the first time in 2025. After falling to No. 6 Maryland (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in a 13-12 overtime thriller last season, the Terps present the first big challenge of the season for the ‘Cuse, as part of a three-game stretch against ranked teams.
“It doesn’t matter if you score, it doesn’t matter if you assist, as long as we win it doesn’t matter,” said Head Coach Gary Gait.
No. 2 @CuseMLAX handled business in an 18-7 win over No. 16 @Towson_MLAX. @RyanRandone and @SokolskyJish had the call for the weekday triumph. pic.twitter.com/XDaGbeLpkg
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 11, 2025
Maryland’s defense has been nearly impenetrable to start 2025, holding both No. 20 Richmond and Loyola to just seven goals which is the seventh-best mark in the nation. It’s also the first time they’ve done that in back-to-back games since 2022. The Terps have also won the last six matchups against the Orange.
A key reason for that success is goalie Logan McNaney. The graduate student recently surpassed 600 career saves and is climbing the Maryland all-time leaderboard at 4th all time.
On the other end, the Orange offense has been electric. Junior Joey Spallina leads the team in scoring with almost 4 goals per game, with attackmen Owen Hiltz and Finn Thompson providing strong secondary production. However, this will be SU’s toughest test yet.
One area that could swing the game is at the faceoff X. Maryland’s unit has been dominant, led by senior Shea Keethler, who owns the nation’s top win percentage (.657). SU's faceoff unit has been solid but will need to step up against one of the best.
"John Mullen had one of his best performances last week," Coach Gait remarked after the win over Number 17 Towson. "He settled us down, played with pace, and allowed us to control the ball."
Maryland leads the all-time series 14-6 and has won the last six meetings. The last time Syracuse won in College Park was in 1995.
“We’re going down there to execute our game plan and bring the same effort we do here at the Dome,” said Gait.
Gametime from SECU Stadium is set for 2 p.m. Tune in starting at 1:30 p.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff on 88.3FM and waer.org.