Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse can’t find any luck against Irish in NCAA loss

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia — On a cold, rainy Saturday that felt far from the start of summer, the Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse team had more problems than the weather. 

The Orange were looking to avenge its regular-season loss to Notre Dame a month earlier and advance to the national title game for the first time since 2013. 

But it would not be the case Saturday as Syracuse fell to the No. 2-seeded Fighting Irish 15-7 and came up short of the squad’s primary goal of securing a national championship for the first time since 2009.

“We ran into a team that was ready to play and executed an awesome game plan in Notre Dame,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “We’re all upset. We’re all disappointed.

“We came up short, but I think we have to give Notre Dame a lot of credit. They were very good today, and I wish them luck moving forward.”

The No. 6-seeded Orange managed a slow start Saturday, falling behind 4-0 after 12 minutes. A burst of offense occurred in the final three minutes, where senior attacker Finn Thomson scored two goals, with senior midfielder Luke Rhoa adding another.

The second quarter was no better for the Orange, with Syracuse failing to capitalize on opportunities. The quarter, which saw Notre Dame outscore the Orange 3-1, was headlined by a goal with a man down to extend the Fighting Irish’s lead to 7-4. Among the few positives for SU in the first half was faceoff specialist John Mullen, who won nine of 12 draws in the first half.  

The third quarter opened very similarly to the first, with two Notre Dame goals in the first 9 minutes. Syracuse would rally once again with a goal from Thomson and tack on two more goals from Rhoa and sophomore Payton Anderson to narrow the Irish’s lead to 9-7.

Notre Dame owned the fourth quarter, stifling the SU offense while scoring six goals, including a pair by graduate student attacker Josh Yago, who finished with three goals and four assists Saturday.

While the 15-7 loss would be the largest point difference in an NCAA semifinal game since 2021, Gait was quick to commend the team’s resilience.

“They never quit,” Gait said. “They got a lot of character, great culture amongst the team, and I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”

SU’s all-time leading scorer Joey Spallina was held goalless for the fifth time this season and the second time in the postseason. It appeared to be a point of emphasis from the Notre Dame coaching staff not to let the senior attacker get anything going.

Spallina delivered a message to SU fans after the game regarding what he had vowed to achieve when he joined the Orange four years ago.

“Sadly, I lied,” Spallina said. “I said I was going to bring it back and win a championship, and … we didn’t get it done.”  and you know, story sports is the way life is,” he said.

While bound for the Premier Lacrosse League’s Maryland Whipsnakes, Spallina said he was grateful for his time spent in Syracuse.

“I love this place,” Spallina said. “I would do anything for it. There were some rough patches where I was thinking other things, but screw all that stuff. 

“There’s nowhere else I would have rather played.”

Notre Dame will face No. 1-seeded Princeton in the national title game on Monday at 1 p.m.