No. 2 Syracuse takes down nation’s best in 11-9 dogfight against No. 1 Maryland

No. 2 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had an opportunity to take down the nation’s best on national television. SU did just that, prevailing over Maryland (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) 11-9 in the JMA Wireless Dome on Friday night. The win marks the first for the Orange over the Terrapins in 17 years.

It was back and forth early on in Central New York. Maryland and Syracuse both threw opening punches, scoring two goals a piece in the first five minutes. Terrapins attackman Eric Spanos and Orange attackman Joey Spallina each contributed a goal during that span. Both players are on the Tewaaraton Award watch list.

However, it was Spallina who emerged as the better of the two. The senior quickly responded to give The Cuse a 3-2 lead before adding on once again with a score eight minutes before halftime for a hat trick. Spallina’s success was also in part due to faceoff specialist John Mullen, who won nine of twelve from the X in the first half.

SU midfielder Wyatt Hottle was also a huge part of Syracuse’s first half success. The junior recorded two goals and an assist going into the break. As a result of Spallina and Hottle’s strong play, The Orange outshot the Terrapins 20-12 and 13-7 on goal in the first 30 minutes. Syracuse led 7-4 over Maryland.

The Terrapins struck first out of the intermission. Attackman Leo Johnson got one to go to bring Maryland within two. The graduate student ended the day with two goals. Spanos would later cut the lead to one with a score of his own before Syracuse midfielder Michael Leo netted his second of the day to give back an Orange two goal cushion. Spallina would add his fourth goal of the night to give The Cuse a 10-8 lead after three quarters. It was the senior’s 15th career four-goal game.

@CuseMLAX on X

Maryland cut the lead to one two minutes into the fourth quarter off an Elijah Stobaugh score. The junior ended the day as the Terrapins' leading scorer with a career-high three goals and four points. But Syracuse would not surrender its lead. Orange midfielder Bogue Hahn slotted home his only score of the game to give ’Cuse an 11-9 advantage halfway through the final frame. SU head coach Gary Gait knew how impactful the freshman’s goal was.

“It was a huge goal. No question. There were so many huge plays and that was definitely one of them. They were battling back and a freshman gets a shot and puts us up two. It allowed us to stay disciplined and run out the clock,” he said.

Down the stretch, SU goalie Jimmy McCool made crucial plays to keep the Orange in front. The senior ended the day with nine saves and a .500 save percentage.

The win for Syracuse was its first over Maryland since May 16, 2009, when the Orange took down the Terrapins in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. It’s also the first win for Gait over the Terrapins as a coach, a team he was 0-5 against. Gait knows it’s all about doing your job.

“It was a nice step. To be honest, we just executed better to get past them. In past games, we got close. We had an opportunity a couple games ago to win in overtime, but we didn’t execute when we needed to. Today, our focus was on us and how we were going to be prepared. Each one of these guys were asked to play a certain way and they all did it,” he said.

The Syracuse fanbase also showed out. Gait reflected on what it meant to coach in front of the JMA Wireless Dome atmosphere.

“There’s no other place in the world that you can go to a game in February and have 10,000 people screaming, yelling, and cheering. This is the greatest place to play lacrosse. There’s no question about that,” he said.

Spallina led all scorers with four goals on nine shots, and picked up five ground balls. Through three games, Syracuse’s superstar has 11 goals, seven assists, and 18 points.

SU hits the road for the first time this season next Saturday against No. 12 Harvard. The Orange are 12-0 all-time against the Crimson in Cambridge. Our coverage on WAER begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff at 12:30 p.m.