Observations from SU’s season-ending loss to Maryland: Self-inflicted wounds, Spallina silent
Joey Spallina was held to just one point as No. 6 seed Syracuse was embarrassed 14-8 by No. 2 seed Maryland in the Final Four. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After 12 years, Syracuse is back where it belongs: Championship Weekend. The Orange made a triumphant return after their longest Final Four drought in program history. It’s been a slow grind since Gary Gait took over in 2021. His reign started rough, missing the NCAA Tournament in two straight seasons. However, Syracuse has steadily improved each season since, with 2025 being its best yet.
Standing in the way of SU’s first Final Four win in over a decade? Maryland. The Terrapins have been a thorn in Syracuse’s side for years. They’ve never lost to the Orange under John Tillman, winning seven straight matchups, four of which have come against Gait. Syracuse’s last win over UMD came in 2009. No matter the talent, Tillman has always had a formula for shutting down SU.
That couldn’t have been clearer Saturday at Gillette Stadium. Tillman’s squad thoroughly outplayed Gait’s, showing who the better team was. By halftime, Maryland led by six goals, and Syracuse never recovered.
Here are some observations from No. 6 seed Syracuse’s (13-6, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) 14-8 loss against No. 2 seed Maryland (14-3, 3-2 Big Ten) in the Final Four:
A flat-out embarrassment
Syracuse entered Saturday on the back of its biggest win in a decade. It allowed the Orange to show they deserved to be on the biggest stage. What ensued was a flat-out embarrassment. The Orange looked unprepared on offense, were sloppy on defense and Maryland punished them.
The Terrapins made Syracuse look like it didn’t belong on the same field. It’s hard to pinpoint even one thing SU did better than its opponent. Maryland’s defense completely nullified Syracuse’s attack. It held the Orange scoreless for 27 minutes, during which Maryland scored eight times.
On defense, the Orange were in a constant state of panic. Over-commitment from their long poles led to panicked slides and wide open looks for the Terrapins.
At times, Syracuse looked without a game plan. Whether it was its players not executing or Maryland being that good, Syracuse seemed flat-out unprepared.
In the first round against Harvard, Syracuse rallied from a six-goal halftime deficit. Facing that same margin this time around, there were hopes of a comeback, albeit slim. That was completely shut down within four minutes of the second half, when Maryland scored back-to-back goals to extend its lead to 10-2.
Spallina vs. Schaller
Joey Spallina can create something out of nothing. Will Schaller is a defensive eraser. Matchups like those are made for the main stage. For the second time this season, the two were pitted against each other. Spallina tallied four points during the first meeting, but Schaller had the last laugh, as Syracuse scored a season-low seven goals.
Though Spallina evolved over the season. He recorded eight points against Princeton in the quarterfinals and shut up those who doubted him. Meanwhile, Schaller — a First Team All-American — held Georgetown’s scorching hot Aidan Carroll to two goals.
It begged the question: what happens when an unstoppable force in Spallina meets Schaller, an immovable object? Advantage, Schaller.
Spallina is best when creating leverage along the goal line and using his weight to create space. On his first touch of the game, he did just that, but Schaller stayed low and denied a weak left-handed shot.
Despite leading briefly, Maryland controlled the pace, and the ball was rarely in Spallina’s stick. After three straight Terrapin goals, Spallina tried to attack from above the cage, but was knocked to the ground by Schaller.
Spallina never got going. He made a bold proclamation last week in a postgame interview, taking a shot at some trolls online.
“But hey, I mean, I guess I can’t dodge anybody or beat anybody,” Spallina said.
Those trolls got the last laugh Saturday. Spallina was held to just one point, an assist which came with three seconds remaining.
Solving McNaney
Logan McNaney is the best shot-stopper in the country. He’s the backbone of Maryland’s defense. Every year McNaney’s appeared for the Terrapins, he’s started in the National Championship, including winning the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2022.
The key for Syracuse in trying to penetrate McNaney was to stay patient.
Owen Hiltz ripped home Syracuse’s first shot of the day, beating McNaney low. That was not a sign of things to come. SU’s next goal didn’t come until just over two minutes remained in the first half.
Syracuse struggled to generate quality possessions, and even when it did, McNaney stopped everything. Hiltz attempted SU’s first shot in the second quarter, but the netminder scooped it off the turf with ease.
The Orange went nearly 30 minutes without a goal, and McNaney didn’t even play much of a role. He faced just four shots on goal in the second quarter and went nearly 13 minutes without having to make a save.
McNaney was tested more in the third, letting the first three shots he faced pass him. Thomson, Michael Leo and Luke Rhoa all beat him in quick succession to cut SU’s deficit to five. McNaney made up for it in the following minutes with three stops, one of which sparked a transition opportunity, in which Eric Spanos scored.
McNaney finished with 14 saves, and for the fourth time against Syracuse, he saved over 50% of the shots he faced.
Self-inflicted wounds
The biggest thing about Maryland is that it doesn’t beat itself. Any self-inflicted wound, Tillman’s squad will pounce on. All three of UMD’s goals in the first quarter came because of SU mistakes.
First, a miscommunication between Ryder Ochoa and Billy Dwan III allowed Eric Spanos to get free as he curled around from X. A few minutes later, Jimmy McCool entered Maryland’s half after clearing the ball but ran out of room. Elijah Stobaugh scored on the other end, and Maryland didn’t give up the lead for the rest of the game.
After a Mullen faceoff win, the Orange were caught offside after a simple exchange at midfield. AJ Larkin scored to pour salt in the wounds, making it 3-1.
The mistakes persisted in the first half. Mullen threw a basic pass over Thomson’s head, and though SU kept possession, it represented how it couldn’t stay out of its own way. Even during a Syracuse man-up chance, Spallina threw the ball straight into Geordy Holmes’ stick.
Maryland capitalized on every Syracuse mistake. It might have only had six turnovers at halftime, but those were emphasized due to the Terrapins’ execution.
