Student Press Freedom Day is a reminder of the vital role student journalists play in holding institutions accountable. The money raised between now and March 6 will go directly toward supporting our independent newsroom. Donate today.

Syracuse’s run against Ivy League opponents has been nightmarish thus far. After narrowly dropping a 13-12 contest to Harvard at Jordan Field, SU played its worst lacrosse of the year in an 11-7 loss to Princeton to open the ACC/Ivy League Challenge.

It’s a stark contrast from the heights Orange occupied just two weeks ago after defeating Maryland for the first time since 2009. Unlike then, Syracuse is no longer atop the lacrosse world, and is narrowly keeping itself above .500.

Now, it has one last chance to escape the weekend with a winning record. If the Orange fall to Penn at Franklin Field Sunday, they’ll drop to 3-3, and only introduce more questions about their ability to compete with high-level opponents away from the JMA Wireless Dome.

Here’s how our beat writers predict No. 6 Syracuse (3-2, Atlantic Coast) will fare against No. 19 Penn (2-2, Ivy League):

Zak Wolf (3-2)
It’s not February anymore
Syracuse 13, Penn 9

Much has been made about Syracuse’s road struggles in February. It hasn’t won a game outside in this month since 2003. Yes, that’s only five games. Still, that’s notable. Luckily for the Orange, this game is in March.

Sunday’s contest is as much of a must-win as you can have this time of year. There’s still plenty of lacrosse to be played, but SU going on a three-game losing streak this early in the season — especially considering the stakes surrounding it — would not bode well for morale. Unlike its last two contests, Syracuse will get the job done.

The Orange couldn’t have played much worse than they did in Princeton and were lucky to only lose by four goals. A less than 48 hour turnaround isn’t ideal, but a quick turnaround is what Syracuse needs. It’s desperate for a get-right game. Penn isn’t necessarily that, considering the Quakers only lost to No. 1 UNC by two goals, however the Orange will be hungry to get back on track.

I doubt Joey Spallina will be held without a point and John Mullen will not lose less than 40% of his faceoffs. If either happens, then maybe it’s time to panic. Syracuse could’ve (and probably should’ve) beaten Harvard after blowing a late lead. It just didn’t show up against Princeton, which, albeit disappointing, happens.

Those are two of the best teams in the country. Penn is not. The Orange will take care of business and although it might not answer every question surrounding the program right now, it’ll be enough to calm some nerves for now.

Nicholas Alumkal (2-3)
Penncil in a win
Syracuse 12, Penn 10

After staking its claim as the supposed best team in the country by beating Maryland two weeks ago, Syracuse has fallen like a stone. Sure, those losses were on the road against two teams that were raring to beat the Orange, but they still exposed SU’s shortcomings in its make-or-break season. Syracuse lacks confidence. The lacrosse cognoscenti are back to their lampooning. But I’m still penciling in a win against Penn Sunday.

From the top to bottom, almost no Orange player had a good game Friday. The contest seemed like a foregone conclusion barely near the start of the second quarter, when the Tigers were ahead 6-0. SU’s defensive discipline and offensive accuracy all failed to make the trip to New Jersey — or showed significant signs of travel fatigue. Spallina was held point-less for the third time in 57 collegiate games. Instead of Mullen having command of the faceoff X, Murphy’s Law was in effect for Syracuse.

You have to think that won’t happen again Sunday. Yes, the Orange have taken massive hits to their resume in their last two. But at some point, they will get back on track. At some point, they’ll win away from the Dome in adverse conditions. At some point, they’ll use these two unsatisfactory setbacks and the ensuing chiding as fuel to showcase why they had so much praise just two weeks ago.

It’s hard to believe in Syracuse right now. But I still hold a glimmer of optimism — enough to pencil in a win against the Quakers Sunday, averting an early-March mayday.

Mauricio Palmar (2-3)
Quash the Quakers
Syracuse 11, Penn 9

I can’t stop myself, can I? With how this season is trending for Syracuse, it’s hard to pick the Orange to win anything with a high degree of confidence. Another ranked Ivy League opponent, on the road, outdoors. Based on how the last two matchups of this ilk went, this seems like a recipe for a third-consecutive SU loss.

But there’s a key piece of context that’s overlooked by that analysis. Harvard and Princeton are both indisputably better teams than Penn, and arguably top five teams in the nation. If they’re not careful, the Quakers are on the verge of falling out of the rankings.

Penn has some talented defensive pieces — highlighted by shortstick defensive midfielder Anthony McMullan, who leads the Quakers with 17 ground balls and four caused turnovers — but it still doesn’t have the defensive bandwidth to limit Spallina the way Princeton did.

Even if it does manage to keep Spallina off the board completely for a second-straight game, there’s a very limited chance that Penn will be able to trouble SU’s defense the same way that the Tigers did with their attacking tandem of Chad Palumbo and Nate Kabiri. Griffin Scane — the brother of women’s Tewaaraton Award winner Izzy Scane — leads Penn with 13 goals, but he’s the best offensive threat the Quakers have by a mile.

If I’m wrong, I’ll gladly eat crow on this one, and take a fourth consecutive loss to drop me to a 2-4 record. But in a world where that occurs, Syracuse lacrosse will have much greater issues to deal with than my subpar predictions.

Published on February 28, 2026 at 8:43 pm