3-seed Syracuse men’s lacrosse comes up short in ACC semifinal versus 2-seed North Carolina, 12-10

Three-seed Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (11-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) bowed out of the ACC Tournament semifinals in a 12-10 loss to two-seed North Carolina (12-3, 2-2 ACC) Friday night. SU’s loss comes less than a month after it fell 14-9 to UNC in Chapel Hill.

Unlike the contest between the two teams in early April, Friday night’s game began as a low scoring affair with just two first quarter goals. UNC freshman Luke Blair opened the scoring four and a half minutes in with his thirteenth tally of the season before SU senior Luke Rhoa responded just 49 seconds later. Each team registered only one shot on goal for the remainder of the quarter, both of which were saved.

The second quarter featured four times as many goals as the first. After UNC jumped out to a 2-1 lead thanks to Brevin Wilson, SU responded with four consecutive tallys. Orange senior Luke Rhoa assisted Syracuse’s third goal of the day and scored its fifth with a nifty wraparound shot.

North Carolina FOGO Brady Womback replied with back to back goals off of back to back faceoff wins within a mere thirteen seconds of each other. But Syracuse leading scorer Finn Thompson buried one into the back of the net with twelve seconds on the clock to give the Orange a two goal advantage at the half.

Much like last week against Notre Dame, the second half didn’t go according to plan for Syracuse. The Tar Heels put 3 goals past Orange goalkeeper Jimmy McCool within the first five minutes of the third quarter before he could make a single save. It was a difficult first three quarters for the SU netminder, who made just four saves through 45 minutes of lacrosse.

The ‘Cuse seized control of the game back midway through the third quarter with goals from midfielders Luke Rhoa and Michael Leo. SU carried a narrow 8-7 lead into the all-important fourth quarter, where things ultimately fell apart for the three-seed.

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Following a Finn Thompson tally early in the final frame, UNC stormed back and scored four unanswered goals to regain the lead. Three of the Heels’ four scores were assisted by Tewaaraton Award nominee attackman Owen Duffy, who finished the day with a career-high six assists.

The Orange’s star attackman, Joey Spallina, was right behind Duffy with four assists. It was a big improvement from the last time the senior faced the Tar Heels, when he was held pointless for just the fourth time in his collegiate career. Still though, Spallina was unable to beat North Carolina goalie Josh Marcus and find the back of the net.

“I’m not going to score a goal every game,” Spallina said after the game. “I’m just dodging and making the play that is in front of me.”

Towards the conclusion of the fourth quarter, Leo found the back of the net once more for SU and McCool made three saves in less than thirty seconds to try and keep the Orange in it. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough. North Carolina defeated Syracuse 12-10, securing its second victory over SU of the season. The Orange were sent back home to Upstate New York, unable to defend their ACC title from a year previous.

For the second straight game, Syracuse surrendered a halftime lead. One of the big reasons why was the battle at the X.

“We dominated the first half in faceoffs. And unfortunately, we didn’t do well in the second half,” SU Head Coach Gary Gait said after the game.

After winning twice as many faceoffs as UNC in the first half, SU lost the battle at the X 10-4 in the second half. Tar Heels FOGO Brady Womback, who entered the day with the fourth highest faceoff percentage in the nation, finished 14-26 at the X.

Another difference between the Orange and the Tar Heels Friday night was goalkeeping. SU goalie Jimmy McCool finished with fewer than ten saves for just the second time in eight games, with the other occasion coming against UNC in the regular season. On the other end, while North Carolina goalie Josh Marcus didn’t have the career day he had the last time he faced Syracuse, the freshman did stop 11 of the 21 shots he faced. Each team finished with 21 shots on goal; Marcus simply made more saves.

Despite the disappointing loss, Syracuse’s season is far from over. There's still more lacrosse to be played in May, and nobody knows that better than SU’s new all-time points leader, Joey Spallina.

“We’re still alive. We’re not out,” said Spallina after the defeat. “Plenty of teams are not playing anymore. I think we’re just excited to have one more guaranteed full week together.”

While North Carolina prepares for the ACC Championship on Sunday against Virginia, Syracuse will hit the practice fields and gear up for the national tournament. The Orange will learn their NCAA Tournament first round opponent on Sunday in the national selection show at 9:30 p.m. Follow @WAERSports on X for the latest updates.