3 reasons why Syracuse men's lacrosse can upset North Carolina in NCAA Tournament

The Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse team began the 2026 NCAA Tournament in true Cardiac Cuse style on Sunday. Gary Gait's team was in a back-and-forth game against Yale, requiring two clutch saves from Jimmy McCool in the closing seconds to secure a 16-15 win. Next up in the No. 6 seed Orange's quest for a national championship is a quarterfinal game Saturday against ACC rival North Carolina, the No. 3 seed.

The bad news for the Orange is that SU has already lost to North Carolina twice this season. There was a 14-9 road defeat in early April and a 12-10 loss in the ACC Tournament semifinals. On the surface, that seems like a bad omen for Syracuse. However, the timing of Saturday's quarterfinal could come at the right time and in the right set of circumstances for the Orange. Here are three reasons why Syracuse might have the Tar Heels right where it wants them.

Facing the pressure

For most Syracuse fans, the game against Yale was almost too close for comfort. The Bulldogs closed the first half on a 4-0 run to take an 8-6 halftime lead. However, a veteran-laden Syracuse team handled the pressure of the NCAA Tournament brilliantly. The Orange scored on the first nine shots it took in the second half to seize control. McCool then came up with two big saves in the closing seconds to seal the game.

Facing that kind of situation early in the tournament could end up being a positive for Syracuse. The Orange was in a similar situation last year, trailing Harvard 8-2 at halftime. With the pressure on, Syracuse rose to the occasion, winning in overtime. That experience helped them come out ahead in a 19-18 shootout against Princeton in the quarterfinals a week later. With a pressure-packed tournament win under its belt, the Orange should be ready for a similar game in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, North Carolina faced no such pressure in the first round. The Tar Heels hammered Albany 24-6 in a game that was all but over by the end of the first quarter. North Carolina wasn't challenged in that game and didn't have to adjust to the pressure of the playoffs. The Tar Heels missed the tournament for three straight years until last season, when they lost in the first round. Unlike the Orange, North Carolina's core is yet to win a tournament game and may not be ready to succeed in a high-pressure situation.

Almost home

With the win over Yale, Syracuse closed out a perfect 8-0 season at the JMA Wireless Dome. Of course, it's nothing but neutral-site games moving forward. But the Orange might have caught a break with its site for the quarterfinals being the campus of Hofstra University on Long Island. Chapel Hill is almost twice as far from Hofstra as Syracuse. Long Island is also in close proximity to a huge volume of Syracuse alumni.

In other words, the Orange should be the de facto home team against the Tar Heels. With a large contingent of fans in attendance, James M. Shuart Stadium could feel like the JMA Wireless Dome. In theory, that will give Syracuse the type of home-crowd advantage the Orange didn't have in its two previous losses to North Carolina this season. That adds to the challenges the Tar Heels face as a team that lacks experience in tournament games.

Third time's the charm

Could the third time facing North Carolina be the charm for the Orange? If nothing else, Gait and his coaching staff have a chance to dissect what went wrong in the two previous losses and figure out a way to fix what went wrong. The second game, in particular, was a contest that Syracuse led at halftime and early in the fourth quarter, so the Orange looks more than capable of knocking off the talented Tar Heels.

From North Carolina's perspective, it can't be excited about having to face Syracuse a third time. It's not easy to beat any team three times in one season, much less a team as talented as the Orange. Most of the statistical categories in the ACC semifinal matchup between these two teams were as tight as can be.

The difference was a slew of errors and three Syracuse penalties in the fourth quarter that swung the game in North Carolina's favor. If the Orange can clean some things up, the result could easily go the other way. This should give Syracuse fans confidence that things will be different this time around, keeping the Orange's title hopes alive.

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