No. 6 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (13-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has made it back to Memorial Day Weekend, playing in the national semifinals for the first time in over a decade. The ‘Cuse face a familiar foe in two-seed Maryland (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten), who beat SU in College Park back in February. For coach Gary Gait’s team, getting to this point meant fighting tooth and nail over the past month.
Just three weeks ago, the ‘Cuse entered the ACC Championship in a heap of uncertainty. Coming off a three-game losing skid, the Orange were far from a lock to even make the NCAA tournament. However, after clinching the conference crown, SU earned a home playoff game. Following a 13-12 overtime victory over Harvard, and a 19-18 win over No. 3 seed Princeton, the ‘Cuse punched its ticket to Foxborough, Massachusetts for Championship Weekend.
“It’s what you play for,” Gait said. “It’s that opportunity where they celebrate the best of college lacrosse.”
SU squeaked past Princeton in a game where it led by four goals going into the final frame. When Princeton came back to tie it with under five minutes left, Orange junior Joey Spallina found attackman Owen Hiltz for the go-ahead score. The defense would hold its ground from there, and send ‘Cuse to the semifinals for the first time since 2013.
For the first time in 12 years, 6-seed @CuseMLAX advances to Memorial day weekend to play in the NCAA Tournament semifinals after a 19-18 win over 3-seed @TigerLacrosse. @BurgessLuke03 and @GriffinMarcy1 had the call on of SU's historic victory. pic.twitter.com/sD9dyqyTPf
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) May 17, 2025
“We’ve been talking a lot about just having fun and kind of sticking to what we’ve been doing,” Spallina said. “I think we’re at our best when the ball’s just flying and we’re getting guys out in space.”
For Syracuse to advance to a national championship game, it may need to keep up the steady stream of offensive production against one of the nation’s top back lines. Maryland goalie Logan McNaney is the school’s all-time saves leader, spearheading a Terrapins defense that is second in the nation, allowing just under eight scores per contest.
“It’s amazing what they’ve done, limiting the teams they’ve played to just a few goals, and we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Gait said.
Maryland’s defensive unit bottled up Syracuse in the early-season battle, winning 11-7. Those seven goals tied a season low for the Orange, who were limited to just 19 shots on cage.
The play of Syracuse’s offense could make this a strength-on-strength matchup. The ‘Cuse tallied 19 goals against Princeton, with eight of those either scored or assisted on by Spallina. The junior has found his stride in the most critical part of the season. Flashing back to the early-season matchup between the Orange and the Terps, Spallina was SU’s only multi-goal scorer. With a national championship appearance hanging in the balance, this would be a chance to put an exclamation point on an overall exceptional year.
Syracuse and Maryland meet on Saturday from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The winner earns the right to play either five seed Penn State or top-seeded Cornell on Monday for the national title. Faceoff between the Orange and the Terrapins is at 2:30. Our coverage starts at 2:00, with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff.