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Ten thousand-plus patrons in the JMA Wireless Dome going ballistic while time winded down in the fourth quarter Sunday transported Gary Gait back to his happy place: when Syracuse used to pack the venue amid its late ‘80s-early ‘90s dynasty led by Gait and his twin brother, Paul.

Back then — a time filled with national titles, Tewaaratons and a rabid SU fanbase — was what Gait considers “the good old days.” And it’s the exact era the fourth-year head coach has attempted to resurrect since taking over Syracuse’s program.

Sunday proved to be one of the strongest indications that Gait’s dreams are finally coming true.

SU trailed Harvard 8-2 at halftime, looking dead in the water with an NCAA Tournament first-round exit looming. Yet, the Orange unloaded six unanswered goals out of nowhere in the fourth quarter to take a one-goal lead. Crimson attack/midfielder Owen Gaffney then responded by ripping home a game-tying goal with six seconds left in regulation. Overtime in the Dome.

But SU didn’t flinch. It only flexed its muscles. John Mullen won a faceoff before the Orange filtered the ball to Joey Spallina on the left goal-line extended. The junior attack hit a moving Owen Hiltz for a quick catch and release that Hiltz flung past Harvard goalie Graham Stevens.

Game. Blouses.

“Syracuse lacrosse is known for doing some spectacular things,” Gait said. “That comeback ranks right up there.”

In a thrilling six-goal comeback, No. 6 Syracuse (12-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) shocked Harvard (10-5, 4-2 Ivy League) with a 13-12 overtime victory in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It’s SU’s largest come-from-behind win in an NCAA Tournament game since storming back from down five against Virginia in the 2008 Semifinals. Four goals from Luke Rhoa, a 24-for-28 faceoff line for John Mullen and clutch goals by Hiltz and Michael Leo paved the way for the Orange’s triumph.

Syracuse advances to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals in Hempstead, New York, where it’ll face No. 3-seed Princeton on Saturday.

“Play fast, have fun — that’s old-school Syracuse lacrosse,” Gait said of SU’s fourth-quarter comeback. “We kind of dug into the history to bring back that have fun, play fast (mentality).”

Syracuse’s Owen Hiltz drives toward the goal against Harvard’s Logan Darrin. Hiltz’s eventual overtime game-winner helped SU finish off a miraculous comeback after facing an 8-2 halftime deficit. Angelina Grevi | Staff Photographer

Hiltz said SU offensive coordinator Pat March gave his players the “green light” once Harvard’s Jack Speidell increased the Crimson’s lead to 11-6 with 10:59 left. The next two minutes and 10 seconds featured a Syracuse transition bonanza.

Mullen wins a faceoff, SU scores a goal; rinse and repeat. The Orange were stuffing goals into the back of the net as if the cage wouldn’t be there the next day. Times were desperate, but they thrived under pressure.

In the blink of an eye, swift ball movement and precise shooting propelled Syracuse to an 11-11 tie with 8:49 to go. Each goal of SU’s run came directly after a Mullen faceoff win. From a pair of man-up goals by Trey Deere to a highlight-reel pole-goal by long-stick midfielder Chuck Kuczynski, just about everybody pitched in. And Harvard couldn’t stop the bleeding.

“We had some (long stick midfielders) step up and score huge goals that are definitely crowd pleasers and get everybody involved,” Hiltz said of SU’s late performance. “I credit all the guys.”

Gaffney fired a long-range shot that squeaked past Syracuse goalie Jimmy McCool to knot the game at 12-12 and send it to overtime. But that didn’t faze the Orange. Hiltz said the offense was confident after their massive fourth-quarter run, in which they outscored the Crimson 7-3, and they knew they’d get a chance for the game winner. After all, Mullen winning a faceoff was a given.

Once he did, the message was to materialize a clean shot on net, which proved to be Hiltz’s scorching lefty finish 51 seconds into overtime. Teammates close to Hiltz mobbed him in the aftermath. Syracuse’s bench emptied as it rushed to the opposite cage to greet McCool in jubilation.

The hours leading up to that scene, though, made a positive result for SU seem inconceivable.

Syracuse entered the NCAA Tournament fresh off winning the 2025 ACC Tournament, its first conference title under Gait and first since 2016. Statement wins over Notre Dame and Duke signified the Orange were peaking at the right time and playing their best brand of complementary lacrosse. Their late-season lull appeared behind them. Consistency seemed to be forming.

But SU reverted back to its rollercoaster form in the first half against Harvard Sunday. The two teams previously met in the Dome on Feb. 22, a game in which the Crimson upset the Orange 15-14 for Harvard’s first-ever win over Syracuse. That day, SU faltered down the stretch due to turnovers and poor goalie play, which both reappeared on Sunday.

Trailing 8-2 at halftime elicited some déjà vu from the Orange. They were a lousy 50% on clears, racked up 12 turnovers and McCool posted a brutal .111 first-half save percentage. It was just how they lost to Harvard last time. Another blunder to the Crimson seemed inevitable.

In SU’s locker room at halftime, midfielder Sam English and defender Caden Kol rallied the troops. The two captains reminded the Orange of their potential and that they weren’t playing up to the program’s standard. They didn’t mince words, according to Hiltz.

“We’ve got some good seniors in our locker room. They kind of snapped the boys back into it at halftime,” Hiltz said.

Syracuse came out blazing with a 2-0 run to begin the third quarter after English and Kol’s pep talk. It’s a common theme for this year’s SU squad: sometimes, it has to be kicked into gear before it starts driving. That sentiment rang true Sunday.

Everything was flipped on its head in the second half; the Orange were perfect on clears, took nearly three times as many shots on goal (17), picked up 19 ground balls to the Crimson’s eight and received help from McCool, who accumulated a .500 save clip in the second half.

SU earned four man-up chances in the fourth quarter as well, all of which turned into goals. The Crimson committed a barrage of unnecessary roughness penalties late as they struggled to keep their composure.

Harvard head coach Gerry Byrne denied his team felt fatigued in the fourth quarter and overtime. Still, he stressed how detrimental Syracuse’s possession domination was for the Crimson’s back end.

“I wouldn’t say they’re difficult to defend, we just played a lot of defense,” Byrne said.

The only constant of the entire game? Mullen’s unabating faceoff success. The Crimson were held to one faceoff win across the third and fourth quarters as Mullen helped Syracuse wear out Harvard’s defense in the second half. With more opportunities came better execution — the Orange repeatedly put shots past Stevens in crunch time.

Mullen’s night didn’t come as a shock, since he corralled a whopping 28-of-31 faceoffs last time against Harvard. Though, it issues a stark reminder for Syracuse going forward. It’s not going to get that type of outing from Mullen every game. The margin of error next weekend will be far less than it was in the Dome Sunday.

“Probably the one-goal difference was the fact that (Mullen) really didn’t turn the ball over at all,” Gait said.

That’s too close for comfort.

Published on May 11, 2025 at 8:06 pm
Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews