5 things Syracuse men's lacrosse needs to win the 2026 NCAA Tournament

The moment of truth has arrived for the Syracuse Orange men’s lacrosse team. Gary Gait’s team learned its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday night, earning the No. 6 seed. That gives Syracuse a home game on Sunday against Ivy League upstarts Yale.

Unfortunately, the Orange is not necessarily entering the NCAA Tournament with confidence and momentum. Syracuse heads into the tournament losing back-to-back games and three of its last five. Granted, all three losses have come to either North Carolina or Notre Dame. However, the Orange will likely have to beat both teams on its path to the national championship. To overcome those obstacles and start playing at a championship level, here are five things the Orange needs to happen during the NCAA Tournament.

Value the Ball

This is a given, but it needs to be a point of emphasis for the Orange. Even though Syracuse won the turnover battle in its ACC Tournament loss to North Carolina, the Orange was still careless with the ball at times. Simple mistakes were made by both the attack unit and in the clearing game. It was a similar story in the regular-season finale against Notre Dame. Obviously, the Orange is aggressive by nature, and Gait isn’t going to instruct otherwise. However, possessions will be at a premium during the tournament, with Syracuse likely going to need to win close games. Therefore, careless turnovers can easily become the team’s downfall.

Be Aggressive, but Not Reckless, Defensively

With the likes of Riley Figueiras and Billy Dwan, as well as a stable contingent of short-stick midfielders, the Syracuse defense has the pieces to slow teams down. However, the Orange has also been reckless at times on that end of the field. They’ve allowed easy goals and given away foolish penalties by being too aggressive. This has been an issue late in games, in particular, which is another way that Syracuse can find itself on the losing end of a close game. The Orange has too many veteran players on that end of the field to make poor and reckless decisions. A huge key for the NCAA Tournament is finding the balance between being aggressive and avoiding careless penalties that can come back to bite the Orange.

Man-Up Efficiency

Syracuse ranks 12th nationally in man-up efficiency, scoring about 45% of the time. On paper, that’s a good place to be, but it still feels like that unit is underperforming. Given the experience the Orange has on its man-up unit, not to mention the balance between playmakers like Joey Spallina and outside shooters like Luke Rhoa and Michael Leo, not to mention specialist Greg Elijah-Brown, Syracuse should be one of the nation’s best at scoring during man-up opportunities. In its 12-10 loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, Syracuse was just 1-for-4 on the EMO. The Orange has to be better in this area if they expect to make a deep tournament run.

Second-Line Midfield Production

Scoring depth is often what separates good teams from championship contenders in May. With six players who have scored 17 goals or more this season, Syracuse’s starting attack and midfield are a dangerous unit. However, it’s not ideal that Dwan, a starting defender, is tied for seventh on the team in goals with seven. Matt McIntee and Bogue Hahn have seven and six goals, respectively, this season. But the Orange’s second midfield hasn’t provided much else this season. In the back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and North Carolina, the second midfield contributed no goals and one assist. That’s not going to cut it against quality teams in the NCAA Tournament. A deep run in the tournament is going to require a lift from the second midfield.

Joey Spallina Shows Up

It’s legacy time for Spallina. He’s said himself that he doesn’t care about being the program’s all-time leader in points as much as he cares about winning a championship. The senior is now down to his last chance to do just that. Obviously, the whole tournament doesn’t fall completely on Spallina’s shoulders. But the Orange isn’t winning a national championship without its best player performing at a high level.

That doesn’t mean Spallina has to score five goals every game. However, he has to be able to step up in the moments when his team needs him the most. Everybody knows what Spallina is capable of doing; he just has to rise to the occasion in his final chance to lead Syracuse to a championship.

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