Syracuse men's lacrosse advanced to the Final Four for the first time in 12 years, but the Orange's lovely run in the NCAA Tournament ended with a thump on Saturday afternoon against an excellent Maryland program at Gilette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
My hometown Terrapins, simply put, are just in a different category than the 'Cuse. Maryland's goalie is ridiculously good, the Terps are disciplined and pass extremely well, and Syracuse lacrosse was thoroughly dominated in the first half and couldn't recover.
The No. 2 seed Terps beat the No. 6 seed Orange, 14-8, although the teams were even in the second half after Maryland raced out to an 8-2 advantage at halftime. Thus, the 2025 season for the 'Cuse (13-6 overall) has ended, with Syracuse lacrosse winning the ACC Tournament and reaching championship weekend for the first occasion dating back to 2013.
Does this national semifinal setback sting for Syracuse lacrosse and its fan base? Of course. Does the Orange have work to do to get into the same stratosphere as a squad like Maryland? Of course. Yet from my perspective, the 'Cuse is trending in the right direction, and the future looks bright.
Head coach Gary Gait, one of the all-time greats in the sport, has taken Syracuse lacrosse from 4-10 overall to only a game above .500 to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals and now to the Final Four. That's progress.
With what's returning, Syracuse men's lacrosse should contend for a national title next season.
Looking ahead to the 2026 term, I'd imagine that the Orange will be highly ranked in preseason polls. Yes, the 'Cuse is seeing some talented players depart, including redshirt senior attack Owen Hiltz, graduate student midfielder Sam English and senior defender Nick Caccamo, among others.
At the same time, those key returnees should include junior attack Joey Spallina, junior goalie Jimmy McCool, sophomore face-off specialist John Mullen, junior midfielder Luke Rhoa and junior midfielder Michael Leo, among others. Syracuse lacrosse also has a strong incoming freshman class that will arrive on the Hill for the 2026 season.
Meanwhile, Maryland and Central New York neighbor Cornell, the No. 1 seed, will battle for the national championship on Monday, May 26, beginning at 1 pm and airing on ESPN. While I'm sad that my alma mater isn't playing on Memorial Day, it's a fun title game affair for me personally, as I live about 20 minutes from the College Park campus and I always root for Cornell, given its proximity to Syracuse.
One final thought. I came across a post on X from USA Lacrosse Magazine, noting that even after the Orange had fallen to the Terps, Spallina stuck around to sign autographs for fans. That's a classy thing to do from Syracuse lacrosse's star player.