No. 2 SU defeats St.Joseph’s to start off the season 2-0

A 20-2 win over Saint Joseph’s marks Syracuse men’s lacrosse second win in the JMA Wireless Dome. A dominant way to kick off the season at home.

Syracuse dominated the game from the first whistle to the last, outplaying the Hawks in almost every major statistic. The Orange still found success even without starting sophomore attacker Payton Anderson, who was ruled out due to illness. That bumped senior midfielder Michael Leo up to attack. 

Syracuse started strong on both offense and defense, going on a six-goal run that lasted through early in the second quarter. Senior attackman and 2026 USA Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year Joey Spallina ended the first half alone with four points and by the end, all starting attackman joined him, having at least two goals of their own.

The defense for Syracuse was just as impressive. The Orange held the Hawks to just one goal in the first half. The one and only goal SU allowed came after holding St. Joseph’s scoreless for nearly 20 minutes.

The defensive captain, goaltender Jimmy McCool had a game to remember. The senior stopped 10 shots and boasted an 83% save percentage. When asked about what goes through his head come game time, McCool had a simple response.

“Honestly, like nothing,” McCool said. “We talk about just only focusing on the ball, reacting. Just thinking about seeing the ball, saving the ball and clearing it down field.”

Syracuse did not slow down in the second half either. Spallina continued to conduct the offense, adding another four points to his game total of eight. With those points, Spallina sits sits in the top 10 of most points scored in Syracuse men’s lacrosse history with 259. 

By the end of the game, Syracuse had 11 different players score goals. Both freshman midfielders Bogue Hahn and Ted Rawson scored, giving Syracuse excellent depth. Joey Spallina emphasised the importance of the freshmen starting the year strong. 

“I try to challenge them [freshman] over the break that we are going to need them and that they are going to play for us,” Spallina said. “I think they have been doing a great job at that.”

One small concern for Syracuse in the afternoon was its clearing attempts. Last weekend against Boston University, the Orange struggled to beat the 10-man ride. The struggles turned into turnovers, which kept the game competitive.

But today, Syracuse cleaned up those mistakes and went 17-20. Head coach Gary Gait said that clearing was a major focus in this week’s practice.

“Coach O [Odierna] kind of handles the clear team. He was stressed all week,” Gait said. “He wanted to make sure we had improvement, that we didn’t come out and play like we did the first game. I think it really helped that we were in the dome all week.” 

Syracuse ends its three-game home stretch against No. 3 Maryland next Friday at 6 p.m.