Wolf: On the biggest stage, Syracuse paid the price for coming wildly unprepared
Our columnist writes that Syracuse men's lacrosse's unpreparedness for Saturday's Final Four matchup with Maryland led to it getting bounced by the Terrapins. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After 12 long years, Syracuse returned to the biggest stage: Championship Weekend. The most historic program in college lacrosse history was finally back where it belonged, competing for a National Championship. No. 6 SU’s Final Four matchup with No. 2 Maryland was an occasion that spoke for itself. There wasn’t any extra motivation needed.
Syracuse had a chance to show it was here to stay, and its season was no fluke. All it would take was a win over the Terrapins. Instead, the Orange took that opportunity and tossed it out the window. In its biggest game in over a decade, SU looked wildly unprepared and was completely outmatched, falling to Maryland 14-8.
This could’ve been a signature moment for Gary Gait in his fourth year in charge. SU entered with seven straight losses to Maryland since 2009 but could’ve exorcised its demons. However, its performance was an embarrassment.
Losing to Maryland isn’t the issue. It’s the way the Orange went out that was the problem. Gait was outcoached by John Tillman for the umpteenth time, and the Orange’s lack of adjustments were evident.
Prior to the opening faceoff, there was a stark contrast in the energy between the two sides. The annual meeting between starters took place at midfield. Following cordial handshakes, Maryland players quickly pivoted to face their bench, pumping their fists and waving their arms. A mob of white jerseys and black helmets bounced down the sideline in jubilation, as if they were celebrating a late game-winning goal.
They were ready for war. Syracuse wasn’t.
Fifty yards down the opposite end, Orange jerseys stood motionless. There was no juice and energy. Syracuse acted like it was in a regular-season game in March and not the Final Four.
It signaled the game was over before it started.
When the action began, everything went wrong for SU. The Orange went 27 minutes without a goal — allowing Maryland to score eight straight — were undisciplined on defense and had constant mental lapses, most of which Maryland punished. Minimal waves by the Terrapins eventually turned into a tsunami SU wasn’t prepared for.
“All over the field, you could point to plays that didn’t go our way that I think could have changed the tides of that game,” SU midfielder Sam English said postgame. “Shooting the ball, defending, I think all of the above, we weren’t good enough during that 8-0 run, and it cost us.”
Syracuse’s unpreparedness is baffling. Maryland isn’t a mysterious team the Orange don’t know about. Their struggles against the Terrapins are well-documented — with seven straight losses entering Saturday — including an 11-7 loss in College Park on Feb. 15. SU’s creative style is often halted by Maryland’s imposing physical will.
This time was supposed to be different. Gait had seen his team crumble too many times against the Terrapins, and he wouldn’t let it happen again.
During Gait’s weekly availability, he spoke about tweaks offensive coordinator Pat March made to the game plan to try and break down UMD’s defense.
“We’re just trying to find ways to put the ball in the back of the net, so we got to tweak things the best we can to try and do that,” Gait said.
None of the tweaks worked. Owen Hiltz’s goal 51 seconds into the game gave Syracuse false hope. It was one of just two SU goals in the first half. Maryland’s long pole trio – Will Schaller, AJ Larkin and Jackson Canfield – blanked Syracuse’s offense, which recorded 19 goals in the quarterfinals versus Princeton.
There was no plan B for Syracuse. Schaller held Spallina to one point – with three seconds left – English and other midfielders couldn’t break free on dodges, while Hiltz’s one attempt on goal limited his shooting touch.
Maryland midfielder Aidan Aitken celebrates his goal in the second quarter to put UMD ahead 5-1 Saturday. Aitken’s score was part of an 8-0 Terrapins run, highlighting Syracuse’s unpreparedness on the biggest stage. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Syracuse looked like a team that hadn’t practiced all week and was playing together for the first time in months. It was eerily similar to SU’s first-round matchup against Harvard, where it trailed by six goals at halftime after a discombobulated opening 30 minutes. The Orange ended up coming from behind but dug themselves a deep hole.
The same could be said on Saturday. However, for that to happen in a Final Four is problematic. The margin for error is thinner due to the increase in competition. The bottom line is championship-caliber teams should be executing at the highest level at the end of May and not falling apart.
That’s on everybody, from Gait and his coaching staff to the players.
As Maryland ran away, Syracuse looked clueless. Gait appeared shell-shocked on the sideline, resorting to a “surrender-cobra” pose once Maryland went up 8-1.
Trailing by six at halftime, SU’s season was all but over. It had pelted seven shots on target in the first half, compared to Maryland’s 18.
“You have to make plays, because you know they’re going to take the ball and sit on it,” Gait said of Maryland. “I think that maybe was a little too much for our guys, that pressure of, ‘OK, I got to go out and make a play.’”
Playing from behind against UMD’s deliberate, slow pace often spells trouble. The Terrapins execute at a high level and cause their opponents to beat themselves. Again, this is nothing new for Syracuse.
However, the Orange let it happen. They allowed Maryland to dictate every aspect of the game, and they paid the price.
Now Syracuse is left rueing a missed opportunity. Unless you’re Maryland — which has made 11 Final Fours in 15 years under Tillman — Championship Weekends aren’t guaranteed. Syracuse’s roster was loaded this season, but it will lose three key pieces in Hiltz, English and long pole Michael Grace.
There will be holes to fill, but Syracuse’s talent remains. The once vaunted 2022 recruiting class with Spallina, Michael Leo, Finn Thomson, Luke Rhoa and Riley Figueiras will become tournament-experienced seniors.
Nonetheless, that shouldn’t be a distraction from what happened in Foxborough. Syracuse was two wins away from its first national title since 2009. The Orange could’ve etched their name in the history books with an 11th National Championship win.
Instead, Syracuse went out with a whimper.
Zak Wolf is a Senior Staff Writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at zakwolf784254@gmail.com or on X @ZakWolf22.
