Syracuse men's lacrosse falls in Final Four, but seniors returned SU to national relevance

Syracuse men's lacrosse is still hunting for its first national title since 2009, after the Orange lost in the Final Four to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, Va.

The Fighting Irish, the NCAA Tournament's No. 2 seed, put the clamps down on No. 6 seed SU defensively to come away with a 15-7 triumph. Notre Dame, on Monday, will face No. 1 seed Princeton in the national championship game.

For the 'Cuse, it's a heartbreaking defeat, without question. First-team All-American Joey Spallina and the program's other seniors (along with the rest of the 2026 roster) set out to bring the grand prize back to the Orange, which is a storied squad in men's lacrosse, but hasn't dominated the sport in recent seasons as it did back in the day.

Syracuse (13-6 overall) found itself down 9-4 in the third quarter to Notre Dame, but the 'Cuse rattled off three straight goals to make it 9-7. However, the Orange committed a brutal two-minute, unreleasable penalty just before the third quarter ended.

Heading into the fourth and final quarter, the Fighting Irish took full advantage of that costly penalty. Notre Dame would outscore Syracuse, 6-0, in the fourth quarter to prevail by eight goals.

What doomed SU was the power-play department. The Fighting Irish scored five goals on six man-up opportunities, and Notre Dame also added a man-down goal. Syracuse, meanwhile, went 0-of-5 in its power-play chances. That was the ball game.

Syracuse men's lacrosse is back on the national map, though.

Head coach Gary Gait, his staff and his players will be thoroughly disappointed with Saturday's outcome. At the same time, Spallina and the other seniors led the charge that has brought the 'Cuse back to national relevance in men's lacrosse.

In Gait's first season at the Orange's helm, in 2022, SU went 4–10. Spallina, a finalist for the 2026 Tewaaraton Award who earlier this year became Syracuse's career all-time points leader, and the other seniors then went 8–7 in their first campaign on the Hill under Gait's watch, in 2023.

The Orange returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, going 12-6 overall and reaching the quarterfinal round. Last year, in 2025, SU sported a 13-6 mark and advanced to the Final Four for the first occasion dating back to 2013.

For some Syracuse men's lacrosse fans, they viewed the 2026 stanza as a national championship or bust for the 'Cuse, but I don't view it that way. In 2026, the Orange played a daunting schedule. SU upset then-No. 1 Maryland in mid-February at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Syracuse conquered a bunch of ranked foes, and the Orange's setbacks in 2026 were to Notre Dame (twice), North Carolina (twice), at Princeton and at Harvard by one goal. And Syracuse, this season, made it two consecutive Final Four appearances.

Is it a bummer that the 'Cuse lost in the national semifinals? Yes. Does it stink that Spallina and the other seniors won't get the natty that they sought out? Of course. Did the SU seniors help get Syracuse back to its former days of being among the sport's elite teams?

Unequivocally, yes. From all of us in Orange Nation, a heartfelt thank you to the Syracuse men's lacrosse seniors.

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