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As Syracuse heads into the postseason, its year is becoming nearly unsalvageable. The Orange finished the regular season with three straight losses, falling to No. 1 Cornell, then-No. 12 Duke and then-No. 8 North Carolina. In all three contests, Syracuse got outclassed, including its most recent defeat to the Tar Heels.

After leading 4-2 in the second quarter, SU allowed four straight goals to end the half. From there, it never gained a lead, as UNC extended its advantage to as large as six with three minutes remaining. All hope looked lost, but the Orange reeled off four goals in less than two minutes. They nearly made it a one-score game, but Finn Thomson’s goal was ruled out after video review, ending their hopes of a comeback.

In desperate need of a win, SU heads to Charlotte for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, where it’ll take on Notre Dame for the second time this season. The Fighting Irish earned the No. 1 seed, with their lone ACC loss coming to Syracuse earlier this month.

Here’s how our beat writers think No. 4-seed Syracuse (9-5, 2-2 ACC) will fare against No. 1-seed Notre Dame (8-3, 3-1 ACC) in the ACC Tournament Semifinals:

Cooper Andrews (10-4)
A lost season
Syracuse 11, Notre Dame 14

I went back and forth on this one for a while. And, man, it’s tough to put your finger on one specific thing that’s gone right for Syracuse in the last three weeks. An awful string of losses to Cornell, Duke and North Carolina — games in which the Orange were getting demolished at various points — showed this team’s true colors at this point in the year. Nothing is clicking offensively, and there’s been limited help defensively.

One thing’s clear: SU isn’t ready for the postseason. And it will suffer a conference semifinals exit to Notre Dame Friday.

The loss likely won’t put the Orange out of the NCAA Tournament, but it’ll signify Syracuse’s 2025 campaign has become a lost season. Instead of a team worthy of hoisting an NCAA title, SU will be a team remembered for an inability to come up with proper adjustments when matched up against the country’s top talent. Yet Friday will prove its championship aspirations were never attainable. At least, not for this year’s SU squad.

Amid a stretch where top attacks have continuously shredded the Orange, I envision ACC Offensive Player of the Year Chris Kavanagh to tally four-to-five goals against Syracuse. SU’s backline couldn’t keep up with the opposition down the stretch of the regular season, and there are no signs that’ll get better in the ACC Tournament. Expect Syracuse to fall behind by a lot early and never get back into it.

Zak Wolf (9-5)
The spiral continues
Syracuse 10, Notre Dame 13

Syracuse simply doesn’t know how to win lacrosse games right now. Until they get their act together, there’s no point in picking the Orange. I drank the Kool-Aid last week, thinking a bounce back was on the horizon. I was sorely mistaken. Now, SU has to take down Notre Dame in what could be seen as a must-win game, and I don’t think they’ll get it done.

SU has been way too inconsistent across its losing streak. Prolonged droughts have led to its streaky offense which hasn’t been good enough. The Orange scored a flurry of goals at the end of the North Carolina game, but that was a byproduct of the Tar Heels falling asleep rather than Syracuse figuring things out. It’ll only give SU false hope against a stout Notre Dame defense, which has only allowed 10 or more goals three times this season.

The Fighting Irish have won three straight games and have only allowed seven goals per game. They’ve suffocated teams in the second half, outscoring them by a combined 20 goals, which doesn’t bode well for Syracuse. I don’t think Syracuse will get blown out because of the stakes, though in a tight game, I trust Notre Dame. It has the championship experience after the past two seasons, and Syracuse doesn’t. The Orange will be left wondering whether this will be their last game for eight months.

Nicholas Alumkal (8-6)
No luck necessary
Syracuse 8, Notre Dame 14

Since Syracuse and Notre Dame met on April 5, the two teams’ seasons have veered in opposite directions. The Fighting Irish are charging ahead like a bullet train strapped to a lightning bolt, outscoring their final two ACC foes by a combined 24-13. They’ve built momentum with the force of a tidal wave toward a potential third straight national championship. The Orange’s campaign, on the other hand, has gone pear-shaped. In the stretch run, they’ve folded like a pair of bed sheets. On Friday in Charlotte, ND and SU will continue their momentum. The result will be a comfortable Fighting Irish win — no luck necessary.

Syracuse’s offense has been maddeningly capricious down the stretch — on one minute, off the next. Defensively, the Orange have struggled to contain the sport’s brightest stars. Cornell’s CJ Kirst poured in five goals. Duke’s Eric Malever matched that mark. And North Carolina’s Dominic Pietramala went one better with six. Syracuse did manage to limit Notre Dame’s Matt Jeffery to one goal and Chris Kavanagh to two in their last meeting — but good luck bottling up that duo a second time.

Maybe the high stakes — where a loss could slam the door on SU’s season and flush its NCAA Tournament hopes — will spark a fiercer fight from the Orange. But if recent form is any guide, Syracuse is sputtering when it most needs to be roaring. The offense misfires like a jammed musket, and the defense springs leaks faster than a screen door on a submarine. Unless the Orange summon a miracle in Charlotte, they’ll find themselves slipping not just on their own peel — but straight out of the postseason picture.

Published on April 30, 2025 at 10:59 pm