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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Michael Leo and Payton Anderson’s roles for Syracuse are vastly different. Leo has started 41 games in three seasons with Syracuse, becoming its most reliable downhill dodger. If SU comes up against an air-tight defense, Leo’s speed and bullseye shooting often unlocks it.

Anderson, albeit a talented freshman and physical specimen — standing at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds — hadn’t started in Syracuse’s first nine games due to its plethora of weapons on offense. The No. 18 recruit in the 2024 class, according to Inside Lacrosse, has shown flashes, scoring five goals in five games, but his minutes largely came in blowouts.

Leo and Anderson’s seasons were on wildly different paths, until they converged Saturday. Facing a stout Virginia defense, Syracuse needed a spark. Its offense was completely neutralized and dormant for large stretches. The Orange looked flat, lacking their normal flare and highlight-reel plays.

That’s until Leo and Anderson stepped up. At separate points, the unlikely duo came up big for No. 8 Syracuse (8-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) in its 12-10 win over Virginia (5-5, 0-1 Atlantic Coast). Anderson’s contributions came in the dying seconds of the first quarter, when he went flying in the air to score one of his two goals. Leo’s spark came after halftime. He scored three goals in four minutes, which turned a once-four-goal deficit into a two-goal lead. The duo’s impacts came in separate spurts, though both were crucial as Syracuse opened up ACC play with a win.

Since Finn Thomson’s injury against Utah, Trey Deere has started in his place. Over his last two games, Deere scored eight goals, so it was a surprise pregame when Anderson was announced as Syracuse’s third attack.

SU head coach Gary Gait explained that in the past, Virginia has chosen to use a short-stick midfielder on SU’s third attacker to mess up their offensive rhythm.

“The idea was to put Payton in there, so if they wanted to short him, he was going to have a green light to the net all day long, because he’s big and physical,” Gait said.

Michael Leo (left) and Payton Anderson (right) combined for five goals to spur the Orange’s offense against Virginia. Anderson, a freshman, made his first-career NCAA start alongside the veteran Leo. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

Deere is more of a close finisher, so Gait went with the more physically imposing option in Anderson, despite his inexperience.

The decision didn’t pay off early. Anderson was muted for most of the first quarter, but so was Syracuse. The Orange had no offensive rhythm to start. Rather than cycling the ball through Joey Spallina at X, the Orange dodged down the alley and took rushed shots. It led to a 5-1 deficit, which nearly increased if it wasn’t for Jimmy McCool stonewalling Thomas Mencke from point-blank range with 12 seconds remaining.

McCool’s stop sprung a counterattack. Michael Grace flung a pass to Anderson on the wing with six seconds left. Anderson didn’t hesitate to attack a backpedaling George Fulton. He got inside of Fulton, before going fully airborne across the crease and finishing past Matthew Nunes to cut Syracuse’s deficit to three.

“That was a big juice goal for a guy like that in a game like this. And I think that kind of led to the rest of his game,” SU defender Riley Figueiras said.

Anderson’s acrobatics kept Syracuse within striking distance, though it couldn’t build any momentum. The Orange put together their worst offensive output in a first half all season, trailing 6-4.

The situation wasn’t ideal, one of Syracuse’s main weaknesses this season is slow third quarters. Leo made sure that wasn’t the case.

The midfielder migrated to the middle of the field when Owen Hiltz couldn’t get his hands free for a shot. Hiltz fed Leo for a simple catch-and-release finish. Wyatt Hottle leveled the game 46 seconds later, before Leo struck again soon after.

Leo received a feed from Sam English in the middle of the field. Due to Leo’s gravity as a shooter, Ben Wayer closed out hard on him. Leo used Wayer’s momentum and faked a shot, which sent the defender flying by him. The rest was easy with Leo finishing high to put Syracuse up 7-6, giving the Orange their first lead. Two minutes later, English fed Leo again for a low-to-high rip, completing his hat trick.

“He’s an animal. He’s been our best player for times, and we can trust him no matter what.” English said of Leo. “When we needed him most he got it done today.”

When all else failed, Syracuse went to Leo. Spallina — who finished with just one assist — struggled to free himself from John Schroter, while Hiltz’s opportunities in the settled offense were minimal. Leo picked up the slack when Syracuse desperately needed him to.

It was a conundrum UVA head coach Lars Tiffany knew he was going to face against Syracuse. He noted it’s not smart to slide against teams that pass as well as the Orange. Though SU had a number of players that could make teams pay. Saturday it was mainly Leo, while Anderson chipped in with a few key plays.

The freshman posed so much of a threat that for SU’s final possession of the first half, Tiffany switched Schroter onto him. Anderson still got a shot off, forcing a save out of Nunes, despite being guarded by an elite close defender. Tiffany switching the matchup showed how much of a threat Anderson is.

Postgame, he called the freshman one of the best power dodgers out there for a young guy, which he showed after UVA scored back-to-back goals to make it 8-8.

Virginia pressured Syracuse with its 10-man ride, forcing Grace to once again toss a pass deep downfield to Anderson in the corner. Fulton tried to cut off the pass, but Anderson beat him to it and caught him off balance. Nobody slid to Anderson as he unleashed a howitzer past Nunes, putting Syracuse back in front.

Leo and Anderson’s opportunities were limited in the fourth quarter. Syracuse mainly ran its offense through English and Hiltz, who combined for the game’s final three goals to put the Orange over the top.

However, Leo and Anderson were the driving forces behind Syracuse’s offensive through three quarters. Leo is a known commodity at Syracuse. Performances like Saturday’s are almost expected. Anderson on the other hand is a wild card.

Syracuse already has an embarrassment of riches. Saturday, it might’ve just added another piece to its puzzle.

Published on March 29, 2025 at 7:09 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22