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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Syracuse entered postseason play, it was languishing. In the moment where you want to be playing your best lacrosse, the Orange were playing their worst. They were losers of their last three games. SU’s six-game winning streak was snapped on April 12 in a 17-12 loss to No. 1 Cornell.

Then, it dropped its next two conference contests, tying its lowest goal total in a game under fourth-year head coach Gary Gait in a 11-7 loss at then-No. 12 Duke. Finally, Saturday, with the chance for the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament on the line, the Orange couldn’t escape their funk and fell 14-12 versus then-No. 8 North Carolina.

So, SU dropped to the No. 4 seed at the ACC Tournament. Yet it began play against the last team it beat, No. 1 seed Notre Dame, which have been on a tear since losing 14-9. The Orange jumped out early with a 3-0 lead and a barnstorming four-goal run in one minute and 35 seconds. SU edged ahead 9-7 at the 10:21 mark of the third quarter, but the game was suspended for 50 minutes soon after due to severe weather in the area.

The Orange hardly missed a beat following the stoppage. It was enough to give them a 14-12 win, booking them a place in the ACC Tournament Final Sunday. SU’s faceoff man John Mullen performed exceptionally, winning 21-for-26 faceoffs. Goalie Jimmy McCool recorded a career-high 20 saves. And Syracuse forced ND to go 0-for-5 on extra man opportunities. When the Orange most needed a well-rounded performance, they got one.

Here are some observations from No. 4 seed Syracuse’s (10-5, 2-2 ACC) ACC Tournament Semifinal win over No. 1 seed Notre Dame (8-4, 3-1 ACC):

ND overcome slow start

Though Notre Dame has won its last three games, it’s put itself in a poor position with its slow starts. On April 19, the Fighting Irish fell behind 4-0 to North Carolina, not scoring until the final minute of the first half. Out of the break, ND pulled away from the Tar Heels for a 12-6 win. Saturday against Penn, Notre Dame again lurched out of the gate. It was behind 6-1 late in the second quarter but again found its stride in the second half, escaping with a 10-8 win.

Friday at American Legion Memorial Field, ND was again slow out of the gate. Syracuse jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. On the defensive end, the Orange’s assignments were clear: Riley Figueiras marked ND’s No. 1 option Chris Kavanagh, while Michael Grace guarded Jake Taylor.

On successive possessions in the first quarter, the Orange forced turnovers when the Fighting Irish dropped a pass. Syracuse also weathered a Joey Spallina unsportsmanlike conduct unreleasable penalty, solely allowing two off-the-mark Notre Dame shots, then Kavanagh couldn’t corral a pass and SU’s Sam English charged upfield.

It was a matchup of two high-caliber short-stick midfielders, as SU’s Carter Rice and ND’s Ben Ramsey bodied each other on defense. Finally, as the first quarter came to an end, Notre Dame clawed its way back into the game. Though ND outscored its opponents 19-4 in the second half of its last two games, it couldn’t replicate that second-half salvo versus the Orange, as they each scored six goals after halftime.

2nd-quarter Syracuse success

SU’s second-quarter performance cost it in its last game. In the Orange’s two-goal loss to North Carolina, the Tar Heels outscored them 4-2 in the second quarter. Fast forward to Friday, SU gained an important lead in the second quarter.

Syracuse found success when it moved the ball on offense. Owen Hiltz was the lightning at the end of a thunderous Orange attack with a wraparound finish to break a 4-4 tie at the eight-minute mark of the second quarter.

Then, SU handed the proverbial keys to faceoff man Mullen, and he powered them — both with his faceoff wins, winning 12 of the first 13, and his third goal of the season. It was an aria of toughness, tenacity and technicality as he won the draw, marched down the field and finished with aplomb to stretch Syracuse’s lead to 6-4 six seconds after Hiltz found the back of the net.

Fifteen seconds after that, the Orange storm continued. Payton Anderson was employed at midfield in an effort to get him on the field along with SU’s explosive attacking trio of Spallina, Hiltz and the now-injury-free Finn Thomson. Anderson went to work at X and chiseled an opening, where he snuck one past goalie Thomas Ricciardelli.

Then, just over a minute later, Syracuse made it 8-4. Sam English worked his way down the left goal-line extended and cashed in on Ricciardelli’s near post. Just like that, in 1:35, the Orange turned a tied game into a four-goal lead.

Notre Dame did have a near-instant riposte, with two goals of its own in a 47-second span to halve the deficit. But in a tight matchup, the second quarter run was one of many important plot points amid a game that had more twists and turns than a cheap garden hose.

Mullen magic at the faceoff X

Mullen was coming off his second worst showing of the season and only second game where he’s been below 50%. He won just 42.3% of his faceoffs against UNC’s Brady Wambach, going 11-for-26 in the Orange’s loss. Yet, the sophomore rebounded impressively Friday against Notre Dame.

He won the first three faceoffs and was near-automatic Friday. His wins gave the Orange repeated opportunities to score and limited ND from gaining possession for long swaths of the game.

Though, out of the delay, Mullen lost the first two faceoffs. He returned to his dominance to close the matchup, serving as a deciding factor in Syracuse’s win and rebounding from an off day Saturday versus the Tar Heels.

Syracuse’s response to the weather delay

When you just scored to stretch your lead to two and set up a pivotal final 25 minutes of a season-defining game, how do you balance all your emotions and mentality? How about throwing in a 50-minute weather delay to jack up the stakes?

That’s what Syracuse was tasked with Saturday. Greg Elijah-Brown buried a man-up goal for the Orange at the 10:21 to stretch their lead to 9-7. Then, before the game could restart, the referees paused the game due to severe weather in the area.

After a 50-minute stoppage, how would SU come out of the delay and finish the high-stakes contest? The answer was not good. Forty seconds after the game restarted, Notre Dame’s Will Angrick got in close and trimmed the deficit to 9-8. Then, the Fighting Irish went a player up on a Nick Caccamo 30-second penalty.

A McCool failed clearance almost cost SU in the man-up, but a last-gasp English check kept ND from cashing in. On the other end, Hiltz went airborne to restore Syracuse’s two-goal advantage.

The Orange survived playing two men down and extended their lead to 11-8 via Thomson. That was the final goal of the third quarter, showing SU locked in quickly coming out of the break, putting it in a favorable spot to advance. Which leads us to…

One quarter to define the season

The first possession of a pivotal final quarter ended just like SU drew it up: with a man-up goal.

In the fourth quarter, SU’s defense played like its season was at stake, because it was. A win all but sealed Syracuse’s spot in the NCAA Tournament; a loss would’ve have left it biting its nails and hoping no bid stealers push it out of the field. The Orange defenders were busier than a hill of ants, buzzing around and closing down shooting angles.

Even when it did let in a goal, SU responded in style. After an artfully crafted buildup left the Fighting Irish befuddled, Hiltz blasted a shot into the roof of the net for his fourth goal of the contest.

It was the Gaelic coup de grâce. SU had snapped its three-game skid and recorded the necessary win to all but assure its place in the NCAA Tournament.

Published on May 2, 2025 at 8:46 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal