No. 8 Syracuse men’s lacrosse battles Air Force for 3rd time in program history, 1st since 2002

No. 8 Syracuse men’s lacrosse (5-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) continues its six game road trip in Colorado when it takes on Air Force (1-5, 0-0 Atlantic Sun Conference) this Thursday at 5. It’s just the third meeting between both teams and the first since 2002.

SU is coming off a huge 12-8 win over No. 11 Johns Hopkins last Saturday. The Orange took down the Blue Jays for the third straight time, the first they’ve done that since 2013-15. Despite the victory, SU Head Coach Gary Gait knows his team has to clean things up.

“It wasn’t the cleanest game, but we did what we needed to have success. Great effort by the defense, offense when we needed it, and happy to start spring break with a win,” he said.

Syracuse attacker Joey Spallina bounced back and led the way with four goals and seven points in the victory after scoring just one goal in his previous two games combined. The superstar’s four scores were the most in a single game against Johns Hopkins in his career.

Spallina wasn’t the only one on fire. In the win, six players scored a goal with four tallying two or more scores. SU goalie Jimmy McCool also stepped up and made 14 saves. The senior has notched 10 or more saves in every game this season.

It’s a completely different story on the other side. Air Force has lost its last five games by an average margin of over eight goals after winning its opener against Lafayette.

Falcons attacker Christian Schweiger leads the team in scoring with 13 goals, seven assists, and 20 points. The freshman recorded his third hat trick of the season in Air Force’s 21-6 loss to No. 8 Duke last Saturday.

Falcons starting goalie Matt Deedy has struggled this season. The sophomore made 10 saves, but allowed 21 goals in the loss to the Blue Devils. On the season, Deedy has made under eight saves a game with a .405 save percentage. He’s also been pulled in four of Air Force’s six games. Freshman Kyle Morris and senior Nolan Parlette have each played in two outings as well. However, both have combined for just eight saves on a .222 save percentage.

Air Force’s goalkeeping has to contend with a Syracuse offense that has struggled as of late. The Orange record 12 goals a game, the fewest in the ACC. SU has had to rely on its defense to play offense. Orange defenseman Billy Dwan III tallied two goals in the victory over Johns Hopkins.

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Another player who has started to find his groove is midfielder Luke Rhoa. The senior notched two goals and two assists on Saturday, his first multi-goal performance since Syracuse’s loss against No. 14 Harvard. Coach Gait believes it's advantageous to have multiple guys who can step up on a weekly basis.

“That’s a nice thing about this squad. It’s different people it almost seems like every game, especially from our midfielders. Sometimes it’s Wyatt Hottle, Michael Leo, but it’s just about being balanced. Some days you get the opportunity and hopefully we can finish them,” he said.

In Syracuse’s two games against Air Force, the Orange pulled out resounding wins. In the first meeting between the two programs in 1986, SU prevailed 22-6. Most recently in 2002, the Orange took down the Falcons 20-8. Coach Gait is just focused on winning the game.

“A win is a win. As far as I know, they all count the same. We always say we just need to win by one and that’s what’s important. It’s nice when you can get a bit of a cushion and ride out the end of the game and not have to try to do it in overtime,” he said.

Coverage begins on 88.3FM and waer.org with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff this Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET.