No. 5 Syracuse men’s lacrosse ends regular season with 16-11 loss to No. 1 Notre Dame

It was a setback in South Bend for No. 5Syracuse men’s lacrosse (11-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which fell to No. 1 Notre Dame (10-1, 3-1 ACC) 16-11. The Orange and the Fighting Irish traded shots in the first half, but ultimately lead to an SU advantage entering the break. This is the first game all season that Syracuse has lost after having the lead at halftime.

The seniors took control in the second quarter for the boost to the top. Veteran attackman Joey Spallina buried the ball off of an assist from attackman Finn Thomson to tie it 4-4, and attackman Payton Anderson followed with a goal of his own for the Orange’s first lead of the game. After some more action left both teams tied at seven, Spallina assisted Anderson for a hat trick to end the second quarter with some energy.

When the second half rolled around, Notre Dame was prepared. Despite SU goalie Jimmy McCool recording seven saves in the third quarter and 18 saves overall, the Fighting Irish added five goals to the scoreboard compared to the Orange’s two. The Notre Dame midfield, which mainly consisted of Will Maheras, Dylan Faison, Max Busenkell, and Matt Jeffery, took control.

The Orange scored two goals in the third to round out the frame. In the fourth quarter though, the Fighting Irish held them to just one: a Wyatt Hottle goal scored with nearly 14 minutes left to play. After that, Notre Dame attackmen Brock Behrman and Luke Miller scored within a minute of each other as the cherry on top of an overall successful season for the Fighting Irish.

“We weren’t getting those open looks like we were in the first half, you know, finding the people inside,” Syracuse Head Coach Gary Gait said. “They were definitely marking a little tighter… and we kept making some simple mistakes as well in that third quarter… we didn’t have a lot of possessions in that quarter so that made it tough.”

A big part of the Syracuse loss had to do with faceoffs. SU faceoff specialist John Mullen went 13-28 at X, while backup Drew Angelo went 0-3. Notre Dame faceoff specialist Tyler Spano went 13-21, his fourth straight game with a win percentage over 50, and teammate Aidan Diaz-Matos won 5 of 9 showdowns. On the season overall, Mullen had a .526 win percentage, which is 8th in the ACC. Spano on the other hand, is ranked second in the conference and Diaz-Matos is fifth. Last season, John Mullen had a .620 win rate, finishing the season ranked sixth in the nation. This season, he sits at number 44.

When Syracuse failed to win more possessions against the number one team in the country, it needed more offensive efficiency. The Orange only had 35 shots in total throughout the game, and the Fighting Irish had a total of 34 shots just on goal.

@CuseMLAX on X

It wasn’t just a competition of talent at X. SU’s Joey Spallina showed his capabilities to start the game, but Notre Dame defender Shawn Lyght kept the senior silent in the second half. Both Spallina and Lyght are Tewaarton nominees, and are potentially the most impactful players in their respective positions. The Orange attack may have started the game with the power, but the Fighting Irish defense pulled through when it was needed most.

“He’s a good player,” Lyght said after the game. “... Obviously he’s gonna get his goals, he’s gonna get his assists. We’re just trying to play our game and try to limit him as much as we can.”

Before the clock hit zero though, when Notre Dame scored what would be its final goal of the game with a minute left in regulation, there were some unhappy campers on the Syracuse side. Some bickering and light shoving led Orange midfielder Michael Leo and Fighting Irish Will Gallagher to obtain minute-long penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Fighting Irish win makes the all-time record against the Orange 12-12, with Notre Dame winning the past 5 straight home matchups against Syracuse. Those games didn’t end much better either, with the Fighting Irish scoring 14 or more goals in the past four contests against the Orange in South Bend.

“What we do is we take it, we talk about it, we learn from it, and we move forward,” Coach Gait said.

The end to the regular-season finished with Notre Dame going undefeated at home for the first time since 2015. As for Syracuse, it finishes without a loss in the Dome for the first time since 2020, but hasn’t lost this many away games in four years.

The ACC Tournament begins for 3rd seeded Syracuse with a matchup against 2nd seeded North Carolina. The Orange fell to the TarHeels 14-9 earlier this month, but seek revenge to start out the post season. Gametime is Friday at 8, with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff set for 7:30.