Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Not too long ago, Division I lacrosse ran through Syracuse. Under former head coach John Desko, the Orange won five NCAA Championships from 1999 to 2013. Stars like the Powell brothers and John Galloway ushered in a golden era of SU men’s lacrosse, mirroring the success of former head coach Roy Simmons Jr.’s late 20th-century dynasty.

Yet in the late portion of Desko’s tenure, and the beginning of current head coach Gary Gait’s reign, Syracuse hit a Final Four drought from 2014 to 2024. It’s been a mission of Gait’s to return SU to its championship standard. In his fourth season, he has.

Syracuse advanced to the Final Four in Foxborough, Massachusetts with a 19-18 victory over Princeton last Saturday in the NCAA Quarterfinals. It continued a historic season for the Orange, who won their first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 2016 and racked up their most wins in a season (13) since 2017.

Ahead of Syracuse’s (13-5, 2-2 ACC) return to Championship Weekend, we revisited the program’s previous nine Final Four squads of the 2000s.

2000 — NCAA Champions

SU won it all in just year two of the Desko era, unleashing a 15-1 campaign, culminating in a 13-7 national-title victory over Princeton. Ryan Powell led the Orange with a staggering 45-goal, 51-assist senior season, and Michael Springer (68 points) and Liam Banks (66 points) formed a sound supporting cast. But Syracuse’s true X-factor was faceoff winger Sam Bassett. As a midfielder, Bassett tallied a program-record 164 ground ball pickups, establishing an aggressive and unstoppable faceoff unit. SU was ranked No. 1 in the country for all but four weeks in 2000.

2001 — NCAA Runners-Up

Year one of Mike Powell’s legendary career resulted in Syracuse falling just short of a repeat national-championship season. The star attack racked up 70 points and earned All-American honors alongside Springer, who posted 53 points. The Orange had an 11-2 regular season but ended the campaign on a blazing six-game winning streak with victories over five ranked opponents. They dominated Hofstra and Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament, setting up an NCAA title rematch with Princeton. Syracuse couldn’t complete the two-peat, though. It fell 10-9 in overtime to the Tigers, tied for SU’s lowest-scoring game of the year.

2002 — NCAA Champions

For the third straight season, the Orange battled Princeton in the NCAA Championship game. They got there off the back of Mike Powell, who detonated for a then-career-high 84 points (42 goals, 42 assists) and took home the 2002 Tewaaraton Award. Senior attack Josh Coffman provided proper relief with a 68-point campaign, earning All-American honors. Even after a dominant year, the NCAA Tournament featured a string of tight games. SU beat Duke 10-9 in the quarterfinals before besting Virginia 12-11 in the Final Four. And in the third straight Syracuse-Princeton championship bout, Mike Powell scored the game-winner with 11:35 left in a 13-12 victory for the Orange.

2003 — NCAA Semifinalists

Desko’s squad weathered a bit of a championship hangover this season — at least for Syracuse’s former standards — only entering the NCAA Tournament with an 8-5 record. The Orange were the No. 5 seed in the first year of an expanded 16-team tournament field. They scraped past Dartmouth 13-11 in the first round before playing Princeton for a fourth straight year, but this time, in the quarterfinals. SU destroyed the Tigers 15-5 to clinch a Final Four appearance. The Mike Powell- and Springer-led group looked armed and dangerous to secure back-to-back titles. However, the Orange got smoked 19-8 by No. 1 Johns Hopkins to open Championship Weekend.

2004 — NCAA Champions

Mike Powell capped off his career by spearheading Syracuse to its eighth National Championship. He finished the season with a team-leading 89 points, becoming SU’s all-time leading point scorer (307). Powell recorded six points (one goal, five assists) in the 14-13 championship game win over Navy. Brian Crockett also provided 54 points, while Brian Nee added 47. The Orange dropped just two games, to No. 1 Johns Hopkins and No. 15 Rutgers. They avenged their loss to JHU in the Final Four, defeating the top-seeded Blue Jays 15-9, which followed victories over UAlbany and Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament.

2006 — NCAA Semifinalists

Syracuse returned to the Final Four after its 22-year streak was broken when it lost to UMass in the NCAA Tournament first round the season prior. A national semifinal appearance looked unlikely in April, when SU was 1-4 after four straight losses. Then the Orange hit their stride, finishing the regular season with seven straight victories and earning the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Brett Bucktooth’s 55 points paced SU alongside sophomore Mike Leveille’s 52. Syracuse took care of business with a seven-goal win over Harvard in the first round before beating Johns Hopkins 13-12 to clinch a Final Four berth. Its season ended with a 17-10 loss to No. 1 Virginia.

2008 — NCAA Champions

SU regained its throne atop the college lacrosse world with a 13-10 win over Johns Hopkins in the National Championship. The Orange set a program record with 16 wins. Their only losses came by one goal, first to No. 3 Virginia and a shocking defeat to Colgate in their regular-season finale. In the postseason, Syracuse defeated Canisius and Notre Dame before surviving in double-overtime against Virginia. Leveille — who led Syracuse with 83 goals — scored the game winner. Galloway, a freshman goalie at the time, anchored SU’s backline, allowing 7.78 goals per game, which set the stage for a storied career where he finished with the most all-time wins for a goalie (59).

2009 — NCAA Champions

In dramatic fashion, Syracuse claimed back-to-back national titles for the first time since its three-peat from 1988-90. Trailing Cornell 9-8, Kenny Nims scored with four seconds left after Syracuse forced a turnover to get the ball back. Cody Jamieson then won the game in overtime. Nims notched a team-leading 74 points, while Stephen Keogh recorded 49 goals. Galloway continued his steady play in net, saving 57% of the shots he faced. The Orange entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed after a 12-2 regular season. They breezed their way to the title game, defeating Siena, Maryland and Duke by an average of 7.3 goals.

2013 — NCAA Runners-Up

After a four-season Final Four drought — its longest skid since the 1980s — Syracuse got back to Championship Weekend. The Orange earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big East Tournament. Their only losses prior to the postseason all came to unranked opponents — UAlbany, Villanova and Hobart. Jojo Marasco had 66 points while Kevin Rice totaled 55. Luke Cometti was Syracuse’s leading goal-scorer with 34 goals. Syracuse defeated Bryant in the first round, then beat Yale 7-6 to reach the Final Four. The Orange beat Denver 9-8, advancing to the national title game. But against Duke, Syracuse blew a 4-0 lead after the first quarter and lost 16-10.

Published on May 23, 2025 at 8:49 am