6-seed Syracuse men’s lacrosse advances to NCAA semifinals with 13-11 upset over 3-seed North Carolina

After falling to the Tar Heels twice this year, the Orange got their revenge when it mattered most. 6-seed Syracuse followed a 14-9 regular season loss and a 12-10 defeat in the ACC Tournament Semifinals with a 13-11 win in the NCAA quarterfinals on Saturday. The win also marked SU’s first against UNC in just over two years.

The game got off to a slow start for both teams. After five shots on goal, the Tar Heels drew first blood near the last minute of the opening quarter with just the fourth goal of the year from defenseman Peter Thomann.

Orange faceoff specialist John Mullen wasted no time to respond. Much like he started Syracuse’s quarterfinal win over Yale, the junior took it himself from midfield to UNC’s net for the equalizer just six seconds later.

Once the second quarter started, both sides got into more of an offensive rhythm. North Carolina did so first, opening the period on a 5-1 run. The Tar Heels’ 6-2 lead marked the biggest of the game by either team. Again, though, the Orange rapidly answered back. SU attackman Joey Spallina found Luke Rhoa for a goal to make it 6-3, and then John Mullen struck again. For the second time, the junior took a faceoff win straight to the net on his own. The score marked his first-ever multi-goal game.

Just before the half, Syracuse history was made on midfielder Finn Thomson’s goal to cut the deficit to one. Joey Spallina added another assist on the score, moving him to the top spot in that category on Syracuse’s all-time list. The senior surpassed Tim Nelson with 188 total.

“The energy was just incredibly high,” Spallina said. “It’s all about the team and I’m just proud of everyone that’s involved.”

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Once the second half hit, the Orange began to take control. Spallina tied it with a first-minute goal, and midfielder Wyatt Hottle gave Syracuse the lead less than 80 seconds later. Orange midfielder Michael Leo then added his only goal of the game to give Syracuse an 8-6 lead.

SU wasn’t perfect in the third frame, however. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Orange midfielder Jake Spallina gave the Tar Heels a man-up opportunity, and UNC attackman Brevin Wilson cashed in just 17 seconds later. The teams would exchange quick blows again towards the end of the quarter, the first being Finn Thomson’s 40th goal of the season. North Carolina midfielder James Matan responded with a score just over one minute later, and Syracuse entered the fourth quarter leading 9-8.

After the two sides traded goals again to start the final period, UNC tied the game a few minutes later. Tar Heels attackman evened the score at 10 with his team-high 55th goal this year. Despite ranking just outside the top five in the country in goals per game, the redshirt junior was held to just two against the Orange. Pietramala had five in UNC’s first matchup with SU, but only one in its ACC Tournament semifinals win over Syracuse.

After that, the Orange regained control. Syracuse dominated the time-of-possession battle and got rewarded offensively. Spallina scored his 34th goal of the year to retake the lead, and Finn Thomson doubled it a few minutes later with his 43rd score this season.

Once again, when SU needed him most, John Mullen showed up. Immediately after Thomson’s score, the junior beat UNC faceoff specialist Brady Wambach again. That gave Syracuse possession, which led to a Spallina goal that made it 12-10. In their two previous matchups, Wambach dominated the faceoff battle against Mullen. The Orange junior only went 7-21 and 10-20 in those games, while the Tar Heels junior won over half of his faceoffs both times. In this contest, Mullen went 13-24.

“He’s been working really hard on being dialed in and focused,” Orange head coach Gary Gait said. “I think he’s really stepped up.”

Spallina’s final goal proved to be the dagger. While Pietramala added another for North Carolina just 30 seconds later, the clock was running out. A key save from Syracuse goalie Jimmy McCool near the final minute cut off any real hope of a UNC comeback. Matan committed an illegal body check with just 45 seconds to play, and the Orange ran out the clock after that.

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The win sends Syracuse to the semifinals for the second straight year. The Orange haven’t made it to championship weekend in back-to-back years since the 2008-09 seasons. Syracuse’s opponent next week is another school that it fell to in the regular season: 2-seed Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish last beat the Orange 16-11 in South Bend on April 26.

“We’ve got work to do. And we’ve been here before,” Gait said. “It was great to take a deep breath, relax, … and start thinking about what we can do for next week.”

Syracuse and Notre Dame square off in Charlottesville on Saturday. Tune into WAER 30 minutes before gametime for McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff, and follow @WAERSports on X for live updates as the Orange try to reach their first NCAA championship since 2013.