No. 11 Syracuse men’s lacrosse brushes off back-to-back losses and takes down Utah 15-5

Coming off two straight losses, #11 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (4-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) needed a strong start to its furthest true road game in program history.

Utah (1-4, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) was not prepared for the firepower in a 15-5 SU win. But not everything during the victory was perfect, and a sloppy second half leaves room for improvement.

Despite being over 4,000 feet above sea level, the Orange fired seven goals in the opening frame. This was the most goals the ‘Cuse put up in the first quarter this season. Six different SU players scored, and sophomore Wyatt Hottle tallied a career-best two scores in the first 15 minutes.

“They just focused on cutting out the noise from the media and everybody else,” head coach Gary Gait said of his players' mentality after two tough losses.

Syracuse slowed down a little in the second quarter and only scored four times. Attackman Finn Thomson backed up a career five goals against Harvard, with a goal and two assists.

@CuseMLAX on X

With under ten seconds before halftime, freshman Payton Anderson netted his second of the season with a Superman-like score. The Orange took an 11-1 lead into the break, but then, for the third straight game, second-half struggles arrived.

“Sometimes we were settling for the first shot and not the best shot,” sophomore Wyatt Hottle said of Syracuse's adjustments after the loss to Harvard.

Against Maryland, Syracuse was outscored in the final 30 minutes 7-2. Last Saturday versus Harvard, SU lost the second half 7-4. In both games, the Orange led at the half and collapsed to lose two winnable games.

Syracuse achieved a ten-goal advantage, which was large enough to carry them through a scoreless third quarter. Some of the sloppiness came from a season-high 17 turnovers.

Turnovers were not the only statistic that did not look promising for the Orange’s national championship aspirations. SU only capitalized on one of its four man-up opportunities.

Last season, the Orange only had an extra man conversion rate of 42%. This year, Syracuse has a 53% scoring rate. Although entering Saturday, SU’s current rate would rank tied for tenth in the country. The top four teams all convert over 70% of the time, which can be the difference between winning and losing games. Notre Dame, the 2024 national champions, finished the season at 67.5%.

Two of Syracuse’s goals were outside midfield empty-netters from long poles Billy Dwan and Michael Grace in the final three minutes. SU’s win qualifies the quick road trip as successful, but some of the questions that head coach Gary Gait’s squad brought out west haven’t been resolved.

One of the main questions that seems answered for now is the man in the net. Redshirt sophomore Jimmy McCool only allowed five goals and had 11 saves.

The goalkeeper questions, SU’s second-half struggles, streaky offensive moments, and a potential turnover problem will certainly be tested soon.

“We just gotta continue to work on consistency and discipline for 60 minutes,” coach Gait said on the team’s future focus.

Syracuse hosts #6 Johns Hopkins on Sunday. Game time is at 2 p.m., but WAER’s coverage starts with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 1:30.