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John Mullen had the chance to be a hero for Syracuse with 32 seconds remaining.

Mullen didn’t perform up to his normal standards. Going head-to-head against North Carolina’s Brady Wambach — arguably the best faceoff man in the country — Mullen’s usual dominance was nullified. He had the chance to rectify that by winning one last faceoff. Or so he thought.

With three minutes remaining, Syracuse looked dead and dry. Trailing by six, the Orange unleashed a furious comeback. Owen Hiltz cut SU’s lead down to two. Mullen cleanly won the ensuing faceoff out in front, leaving Wambach in the dust. With defenders sliding to him, Mullen fed Finn Thomson on the crease for SU’s fourth straight goal.

It set off a delirious reaction in the JMA Wireless Dome. A wave of shock and excitement pulsated through the stands, just minutes after thousands headed for the exits. That’s when all the attention turned to Mullen. Win one more faceoff and the Orange would have a chance to tie the game.

That opportunity never happened. Before Mullen even trotted out to midfield, the officials initiated a video review. They determined Thomson’s hand landed in the goalmouth, erasing the score while giving UNC possession.

Mullen’s opportunity to help No. 11 Syracuse (9-5, 2-2 ACC) potentially tie the game was snatched right out of his hands, as the Orange fell 14-12 to No. 8 North Carolina (10-3, 3-1 ACC). Despite getting hot late, Mullen went 11-of-26 at the faceoff X. Outside of a 40.9% performance against UVA on March 29, the sophomore displayed his worst performance of the season. Wambach jumped on him early, winning every faceoff in the first quarter. Eventually, Mullen got in a groove, but it was too little, too late.

It didn’t take a lacrosse expert to know Mullen and Wambach would be a heavyweight battle. Both entered Saturday top seven in the country in faceoff win percentage — Wambach in third at 67%, Mullen in seventh at 63% — though both were the only two playing in a major conference.

North Carolina head coach Joe Breschi called Mullen one of the best faceoff specialists in the country. Yet his confidence in Wambach remained sky high.

“At the end of the day, Brady gives us possessions, and he’s been doing it all year,” Breschi said.

Mullen couldn’t keep up with Wambach through the game’s initial phase. His first faceoff win came three minutes into the second quarter after losing five straight.

Wambach dominated Mullen in various ways. Many times, he dragged the ball backward right to himself. Other times, he boxed Mullen out after a stalemate was initiated in the middle of the field. Wambach didn’t need the help of his wings, scooping up three ground balls in the first quarter.

Breschi said that Wambach was “feeling himself” and “catching the whistle at the right time.” That was evident when Mullen left way early on the final faceoff of the first quarter.

“He’s the best in the country right now,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said of Wambach. “He was on fire.”

Syracuse wasn’t plagued by Mullen’s early shortcomings. It did partially lead to the Orange being outshot 22-10 in the opening 15 minutes, but their four turnovers and three failed clears didn’t help either. Still, Syracuse was knotted at 2-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Mullen grew into the game, going 3-for-7 in the second quarter as Syracuse jumped out to a two-goal lead. North Carolina fought right back to tie the game. Then, Wambach won back-to-back faceoffs for the first time in the quarter, leading to two more scores. Brevin Wilson put UNC in front before Dominic Pietramala added another. Wambach played a direct role each time.

He pushed the ball ahead to himself. Wambach had the chance to shoot but ran into trouble, losing the ball. However, Pietramala was there to pick up the scraps for UNC’s third goal in 98 seconds.

Wambach isn’t one to go directly to the goal himself. He has just one goal on five shots this season. Mullen, on the other hand, has two goals and three assists alongside 12 shots. His speed and athleticism make him a threat to score at any time, yet Wambach held that in check.

Even when Mullen won his faceoffs, Wambach made him work for it. He forced Mullen into drawn-out scrambles, which would involve the wings. Due to the free-for-all nature of some faceoffs, Mullen rarely had chances to spark SU’s offense.

Coming from behind was never going to be ideal for Syracuse with Wambach on the other side. So when the Orange fell behind 9-5, they were in the danger zone. Mullen came up big with two wins in a row as Syracuse got back within two.

Mullen could only watch at the start of the fourth quarter after Billy Dwan III was called for a two-minute locked-in penalty at the end of the third. Mullen only took one faceoff in the opening eight minutes of the fourth quarter. When he was on the field, he was effective, winning three of four at one point.

Syracuse couldn’t take advantage. The Orange capitulated as North Carolina built a six-goal lead. Fans started to head for the exits when Wilson made it 14-8 with three minutes remaining. Who could blame them?

But Mullen grew into the game, going 11-of-23 across the final three quarters. Winning five faceoffs in a row against Wambach is a mammoth task, let alone two or three.

Wambach seemingly put the game on ice after one final faceoff win with 1:18 remaining and North Carolina up 14-10. The Tar Heels had the chance to run the clock out but turned it over. Sam English and Hiltz then scored within 12 seconds of each other.

Mullen added to the drama when he set up Thomson for what would’ve been Syracuse’s third goal in 17 seconds, before it was ruled out.

“It definitely is (tough),” Gait said of the goal being overturned. “I don’t know whether the stick can be in the goalmouth. The hand can’t. Was it in? I don’t know, but the refs wanted to look at it. It was their call. It wasn’t North Carolina. It was the referee’s call to do that.”

Outside of a poor start, Mullen went toe-to-toe with Wambach. The matchup lived up to the hype, and one can only speculate what Mullen could’ve done with one more bite at the apple.

Too bad we’ll never know.

Published on April 26, 2025 at 11:19 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22