No. 2 Syracuse avenges NCAA Tournament loss by taking down No. 1 Maryland

Syracuse found itself fending off a Maryland clear attempt, up by two in the final minutes of regulation. But sophomore midfielder Payton Anderson forced the ball loose from midfielder George Stamos, allowing senior defender Riley Figueiras to come in and swipe the ball from the Terps. The Orange proceeded to dwindle the next minute of the clock and ultimately held on for the victory.

No. 2 Syracuse (3-0, 0-0 ACC) avenged last season’s NCAA Tournament loss with an 11-9 victory over No. 1 Maryland (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten). The Orange’s victory against the Terrapins was their first since 2009. 

“It was a nice step,” head coach Gary Gait said. “We just executed better than past games against them. Today, our focus was on how we were going to be prepared.”

Senior duo Joey Spallina and Michael Leo paced SU with a combined six goals. Junior midfielder Wyatt Hottle also scored twice.

“When you can stack two or three goals and this place goes crazy, it’s a tough thing to overcome,” Spallina said. “We did that a few times today.”

While the Terps featured four players with multiple scores, it struggled to maintain possession with 14 turnovers to the Orange’s ten. Syracuse also led the ground balls battle 36-22.

Maryland struck first after attacker Leo Johnson scored less than two minutes into the game. SU responded with a 4-1 run to close out the opening quarter, relying on two goals each from Hottle and Spallina.

Syracuse continued to extend its lead into the second quarter after junior midfielder Tyler McCarthy notched his first goal of the season. The Orange led by as much as four before Maryland junior Elijah Stobaugh registered back-to-back scores. 

Neither team managed to find the back of the net in the final eight minutes of the first half. After 30 minutes of play, Syracuse held a 7-4 advantage.

Momentum switched to the Terps side early in the second half thanks to a change in the faceoff battle. Following a 9-of-12 mark at the circle in the first half, Syracuse faceoff man John Mullen lost the next six draws to Maryland’s Henry Dodge. The Terps used the extra time of possession to record eight of the first nine shots in the second half en route to four goals in the period. 

But the Orange’s seniors proved too much to overcome. Leo finally struck for the first time halfway through the third quarter, while Spallina continued his dominance with his fourth goal just a few minutes later. 

“It’s just the mindset of doing what I have to do to help this team win, whether it’s being a dodger or off-ball guy,” Spallina said. “My mindset doesn’t change, I’m going to play as hard as I can and focus on the next play.”

Star senior goalie Jimmy McCool also finished strong with just one goal allowed to Stobaugh in the fourth. The Boston native saved nine shots and held the Orange’s first three opponents to an average of under seven goals a game. 

“There’s no other place where you can go to a game in February and have 10,000 people,” Gait said. “This is the greatest place to play lacrosse. I’m incredibly proud of the team effort. Everyone did what they needed to do to get better.”

Syracuse is set to begin a six-game road stint against No. 12 Harvard next Saturday at 1 p.m. The Orange rallied from a five-goal fourth-quarter deficit to take down the Crimson in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last season. 

“That’s going to be the real test for us, being outside on a cold winter day and executing,” Gait said. “We’ll put in the work and play outside to prepare.”