Syracuse men's lacrosse passes huge first test, confirms championship aspirations

After the season began with the highest of hopes and expectations, the Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse team has passed its first big test of the season. Gary Gait's team took down top-ranked Maryland 11-9 on Friday night, improving to 3-0 in the young season. It was Syracuse's first win over Maryland since 2009, snapping an eight-game losing streak against the Terrapins, who have become the pre-eminent program in college lacrosse.

With the win, the No. 2 Orange will surely be ranked No. 1 next week. More importantly, Syracuse's victory confirms what fans had hoped to see before the season, which is that the Orange is a genuine title contender with a chance to end its championship drought, which also dates back to 2009. Obviously, the win was great, but it was how the Orange won that set it up for a season in which anything less than a national title will be considered a disappointment.

Syracuse's stars shined

The biggest reason for Syracuse's preseason hype is senior attackman Joey Spallina, who was the national preseason player of the year. In the past, Spallina has been criticized for not being able to perform against the top teams. After failing to score against Maryland in last year's national semifinal, Spallina had that monkey on his back ahead of Friday's game.

However, Spallina responded to the criticism by scoring four goals against the Terps. He rose to the occasion in a big game, helping the Orange to build a lead in the first half. If Spallina can start to show up in big games, it changes the outlook of the season, as Syracuse will know that its biggest star will come through for the Orange in big games late in the season.

Emerging stars

Another championship ingredient for the Orange is having players who weren't established stars before the season taking on prominent roles, giving the team unexpected production. Thus far, Wyatt Hottle has been that breakout star. He scored two first-quarter goals against Maryland, which had no answer for his speed, giving him six goals in the first three games of the season.

Junior Tyler McCarthy and freshman Bogue Hahn also contributed goals against Maryland. Hahn's goal was the last tally of the game, giving the Orange the breathing room they needed to close out the game. With the likes of Hottle, McCarthy, and Hahn becoming scoring options, Syracuse is expanding its scoring depth, making the Orange less reliant on stars like Spallina and Michael Leo to carry it every game. If that continues, a deep roster of scoring options will also put the Orange on a championship path.

Staying McCool

Of course, the play of goalie Jimmy McCool and the Syracuse defense can't be overlooked. The Orange defenders rarely lost one-on-one matchups against Maryland's attack, limiting the Terps to just nine goals, with McCool making nine saves.

More importantly, McCool played with the poise and confidence of an experienced goalie. He has every reason to feel confident with experienced close defenders like Riley Figueiras and Billy Dwan in front of him. The early returns of the Orange defense have matched or perhaps exceeded expectations, which also points to Syracuse being a championship-caliber team in 2026.

The road ahead

Obviously, there is a lot of lacrosse left in the season. Even after taking down the top-ranked team in the country, Syracuse's schedule doesn't get much easier. The Orange will play its next six games on the road, including three straight against Ivy League opponents, two games west of the Mississippi, with a trip to Johns Hopkins sandwiched in between. Meanwhile, the Syracuse schedule is backloaded with ACC rivals.

Beating Maryland in mid-February isn't going to win Syracuse a national championship. However, the confidence from the win and the way the Orange won the game are both strong indicators that fans were right to assign championship-or-bust expectations to the season. Even with plenty of season left to be played, all of the ingredients are there to win a title.