Less than a week after suffering its first loss of the season, No. 6 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (3-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped another road test. SU fell to No. 7 Princeton (2-1, 0-0 Ivy League) 11-7 Friday night at Sherrard Field. With the win, the Tigers snapped a six-game losing streak against the Orange and avenged last season’s 2025 19-18 NCAA Tournament quarterfinal heartbreak.
After its first loss of the season less than a week ago, No. 6 @CuseMLAX falls for a second straight game at the hands of No. 7 @TigerLacrosse 11-7.@alex_burstein and @Drew_Albaugh had the call from New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/oC1HScTlXa
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 27, 2026
Princeton took control from the start.
“Tough game. Good Princeton team that came out and played their butts off and took it from us from the opening whistle,” head coach Gary Gait said. “We’ll regroup and get back at it for Sunday.”
The Orange won the opening faceoff but failed to convert, and the Tigers immediately seized momentum. Princeton scored six unanswered goals to open the game, building a deficit SU never fully erased.
“We just couldn’t get it going,” Gait said of Princeton’s 6-0 start. “On the offensive end, face-offs, a little bit of everything.”
It's been pure dominance from @TigerLacrosse.@Drew_Albaugh narrated midfielder Tucker Wade's close-range score.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 27, 2026
📻@waer883, https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/7jQorC0ILb
The early possession gap was glaring. Princeton outshot Syracuse 15-5 after the first quarter and finished with a 52-40 advantage overall. The Tigers also won the groundball battle 32-22 and held a 12-10 edge at the dot.
“Oh there was. No question,” Gait said when asked about the shot disparity. “In the second quarter, they were up almost 30 shots, and I was like holy cow, we got our work cut out for us.”
Princeton’s defense dictated the tone throughout. The Tigers entered the matchup ranked first in the Ivy League and sixth in Division I in caused turnovers per game (11.0) and backed it up, causing eight of the Orange’s 11 turnovers. In the third frame, Princeton mixed in zone looks that forced the Cuse to settle for perimeter attempts.
“They just played great team defense. They covered the backside of the field, and we didn’t execute and didn’t move the ball,” Gait said.
Syracuse’s stars were contained in the process.
Attackman Joey Spallina, who posted eight points against Princeton in last year’s NCAA Tournament game, was held scoreless. It was just the third zero-point outing of the senior’s career and his first since the 2024 NCAA Tournament matchup against Denver.
At the faceoff X, junior FOGO John Mullen went 6-16, limiting Syracuse's ability to generate extra possessions.
With the defeat, Syracuse falls to 22-10 all-time against Princeton. The loss also marks the Orange’s second consecutive setback to a ranked opponent on the road — part of what Gait described as one of the toughest early-season schedules in the country.
“We’ve already played four or five top 20 teams, which has been tough. We need to regroup and we need to get better. We have plenty of great teams ahead to get better,” Gait said. “Hopefully we can look back at this road trip and say we learned a lot, and it made a difference come the end of the year.”
Syracuse’s ACC/Ivy Challenge slate continues Sunday as it heads to Franklin Field for a noon showdown against No. 19 Penn. WAER’s coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff.