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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There it was. The best defender in the Atlantic Coast Conference locked in on a freshman. If you were Duke’s Aidan Maguire — the ACC’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year — that was your assignment: shadow Syracuse’s Payton Anderson, a lanky, fearless freshman who had quietly built a résumé worth noticing.

But for Anderson, the spotlight wasn’t blinding. It was familiar. Earlier this season, he’d drawn Virginia’s top defender, All-ACC bruiser John Schroter, and walked away from Charlottesville with two goals in a narrow 12-10 win.

Freshmen don’t always get extended playing time at SU, especially with a loaded attack already present. Look at Trey Deere last season. As a freshman, he only played five games. Yet, when Anderson has gotten opportunities on the field this season, he’s made the most of them. When attack Finn Thomson was injured for six weeks, Anderson received extended action and was impactful.

But with Thomson returning in April, Anderson could’ve seen his time on the field diminish. Instead, he’s carved out a spot where he’s integral to SU’s offense.

That showed Sunday in No. 4 Seed Syracuse’s (11-5, 2-2 ACC) 9-8 ACC Tournament Championship win over No. 3 Seed Duke (12-5, 2-2 ACC). With the Orange in a nailbiter, Anderson scored two goals to release the pressure and restore a three-goal lead in the second half. Both tallies came at pivotal moments, blunting Duke’s momentum and reinforcing Anderson’s rising value in high-pressure games.

“He’s had opportunities all year, and he’s done a really good job,” SU head coach Gary Gait said postgame. “But, he’s a confident young man, and he came in and made some plays, and it was awesome.”

To carve out his key role in the Orange’s attack as a freshman, the No. 18 recruit, according to Inside Lacrosse, has done whatever he’s asked of. The 6-foot-3 attack was employed at X in SU’s regular-season win over Notre Dame, allowing Joey Spallina to roam in front of the net. In the victory over the Fighting Irish, Anderson jumpstarted Syracuse’s offense after it fell behind 3-0 11 minutes in.

He started his run at X but worked his way through the forest of ND defenders. The final product was an acrobatic finish.

In Charlotte, the Hopewell Junction, New York, native pitched in on the midfield lines for the Orange. But he’s shown that despite the Orange being back to full strength, they still can lean on the freshman to create for himself. And he’s up to the task.

On Friday against ND, he again created his own chance for the Orange’s third of four goals in a one-and-a-half-minute span in the second quarter. He dodged past Chris Reinhardt, driving towards the right goal line extended. Once there, Anderson turned his head toward the net and snuck one past goalie Jeffery Ricciardelli on the move from an acute angle. It was magic dipped in madness and finished with a poet’s touch.

Sunday, Syracuse employed him mainly as a catch-and-shoot cutter versus Duke. He nearly struck paydirt when he made a run towards the net, received a feed from Owen Hiltz at X and saw his shot saved by Duke goalie Patrick Jameison in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter.

He was Johnny on the spot again when he carved out room to the left of the net, caught a pass from Spallina and blasted a low shot under the legs of Jameison to give SU a 7-4 lead at the 6:20 mark of the third quarter.

Early in the final quarter, the freshman was handed the keys to SU’s offense, and he delivered. He once again created the chance for himself. Driving into the chaos toward net and going airborne while deftly placing his shot past Jameison in the bottom left corner before falling into a pile of three Blue Devil defenders in the crease. It was the final Syracuse goal of the game, building a 9-6 lead it nearly squandered.

In response to his second score, Duke put Maguire on Anderson for most of the remaining 10 minutes. 6-foot-1, 205-pound Maguire was physical with the freshman. But Anderson was undeterred, bouncing right off the checks.

Against Virginia earlier in the season, Anderson was SU’s third attack alongside Spallina and Hiltz and succeeded with its matchup with UVA’s short-stick midfielders.

“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 March 29 following the win over the Cavaliers.

Sunday, he served as the Orange’s fourth attack and again made hay in his favorable matchup with the Blue Devils’ short-stick midfielders.

Anderson didn’t just survive under the spotlight — he thrived in it. On a championship stage, with Duke’s best shadowing his every move, the freshman didn’t flinch.

He delivered with poise beyond his years. He proved though the Orange may be loaded with veteran firepower, their future — as Sunday showed — is already making plays.

Published on May 4, 2025 at 7:44 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal