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Sam English stretched his calves and then helped Syracuse stretch its lead. It was March 9, and the Orange led then-No. 7 Johns Hopkins 12-10 with three minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Syracuse was searching for its first top-10 win of the season, but it wasn’t over the finish line yet.

Enter English.

He sidled on the left flank with the ball in his stick. He reached to stretch his right calf, grabbing the tip of his cleat with his gloved right hand. Then, he did the same thing with his left. English inched some more steps forward. Finally, he accelerated toward the center of the field, blowing by his marker — short stick Reece DiCicco and directed a pass to Michael Leo. Leo bounced his bid past JHU goalie Luke Staudt to make it 13-10 with 2:59 left.

It was the Blue Jays’ coup de grâce, but it was English — fighting through clear signs of fatigue — who set up for the final dagger. In his sixth year of college lacrosse, English has showcased that stamina to power Syracuse (9-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) “whenever it needs him,” he said. He plays on SU’s defense and clearing units. He’s part of the man-down crew. He’s positioned on the wings on faceoffs.

“His workload is way higher than everybody. It’s not even close,” SU head coach Gary Gait said of English. “We don’t know the opponent’s workload, but I bet he’s the guy working the hardest on the entire field.”

English has tallied 15 goals and eight assists through 12 games, including a four-point “Virginia-killer” showing, per Gait. But English’s value isn’t always illustrated in the box score.

“If you look at the statsheet after a game, you’ll look at the rate Syracuse cleared the ball,” Dan Arestia, a longtime lacrosse coach and analyst, said. “There’s a bunch of those clears that are just Sam English picking up the ball and running it out of the defense.”

English added he prides himself on stamina and versatility. His parents — Kim and Andrew — said English’s stamina was natural. As a senior in high school at Culver Military Academy, he “barely came off the field.”

Now at SU, Arestia guessed English spends 45-50 minutes on the field each game. Arestia remembered another moment from SU’s game versus Johns Hopkins where English had just exited the field and sat on the bench, getting a drink of water. Yet, when Syracuse got a penalty, English instantly reentered.

In a way, Arestia said, English is an anachronistic player. His unparalleled playing time reminds him of lacrosse in the 1980s and 1990s, when the sport was less specialized.

“He’s a throwback to an era where if you had a midfielder who was going to play at a high level, he had to be able to do everything well,” Arestia said. “There’s not many players like him anymore.”

But English also incorporates facets of modern lacrosse, stemming from his experience playing indoor box lacrosse growing up for the Burlington Chiefs. Kim said in box there was less specialization, so English played midfield, befitting his near-endless motor.

“Canadian lacrosse players, you’re always playing both ends,” Andrew said. “It’s not until they get older, when they start specializing.”

Just as English transcends era and the established position roles, Arestia’s comparison does too. He thinks of Charles Woodson, a standout two-way threat for Michigan football in the mid-1990s and Colorado’s multifaceted Travis Hunter, a projected top-five 2025 NFL Draft pick.

Like English, both Woodson and Hunter rarely came off the field. But the comparison doesn’t stop there. Both were Heisman winners. English was added to the Tewaaraton Watchlist for the second time in his career this season with his do-it-all role.

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His impact was clearest on March 29 versus unranked Virginia. SU trailed 5-1 early before English sparked a comeback. He pounced on a Joey Spallina rebound to make it 5-4. He assisted Leo’s strike that opened up a two-goal advantage. When UVA reclaimed momentum, English tied it at 10 with a bounce shot. Then he found Owen Hiltz for the game-winner.

His final act? Firing a shot that clanged off the post in the final minutes, which Hiltz cleaned up to seal the win.

“Tying goal, assisting on the winning goal, took the shot that got rebounded for the insurance goal,” Gait said. “He does everything for us.”

What English does is expected, but it’s still hard to limit him as a dodger and shooter.

“If there’s 10,000 people in the Dome, all 10,000 of them know he’s trying to get to his right hand, but he’s still going to get to his right hand,” Arestia said. “He’s great at creating and freeing his hands to be dangerous.”

English’s skill set, stamina and versatility translate seamlessly to the professional level, Arestia said. He was selected No. 2 overall in the National Lacrosse League Draft last season but opted to return to SU for a sixth season. At the next level, Arestia stressed English can fill the equivalent of two roster spots on 18 or 19-player squads.

Kim added English “has finally found himself” at Syracuse. After four years at Princeton, he still had Jake Stevens, his confidant from Culver and the Tigers, at his side in 2024 with the Orange. But now he’s become comfortable with the spotlight.

“He wants it, but he (had) never known how to really be it,” Kim said about English being a leader. “And I feel like this year, he is being it.”

During the fall, English told his dad something he’d never said before a season.

“He’s like, ‘We’re good, we’re good,’” Andrew recalls English saying of SU. “He’d never ever said that before. He thinks really highly of this team, and I really think he has really accepted his role as a leader on this team.”

On March 9, English stretched his calves. Then he helped Syracuse stretch its lead. And he’s stretched far beyond what any one position — or any one stat — can capture this season. In his final collegiate campaign, English has become the Orange’s stretch of certainty: always there, always reliable, always ready.

Published on April 15, 2025 at 9:24 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal