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If there’s one area of criticism for Syracuse in its season-opening win over No. 17 Boston University, it’d be its clearing game. On paper, the numbers look good. The Orange were successful on 22 of their 25 clears. However, the actual game told a different story.

SU struggled to deal with BU’s pressure-heavy 10-man ride. It sparingly fed its midfielders, who could use their speed to get over the halfway line. Instead, the Orange often resorted to chucking the ball downfield, hoping an attack would be the closest player to the end line so they could keep possession.

The shortcomings in the clearing game didn’t cost Syracuse (1-0, Atlantic Coast) against BU, as it came out with a 13-6 win. Although if SU wants to contend for a national championship it has to get better in that department. Lacrosse is a game of fine margins, where every possession counts. And if Syracuse is careless with the ball, teams will continue to apply as much pressure as they can.

“I know we weren’t overly thrilled with our clearing today, so we’ll work at that,” SU head coach Gary Gait said postgame. “We’ll get to see some more 10 men next week. So that’ll be good for us, because we can improve and see if we can get better at it within a week.”

During the week, BU’s ride was Gait’s biggest worry. Despite having no film on BU, head coach Ryan Polley is known for implementing heavy pressure to get the ball back. Gait was concerned with how well the Terriers clog the middle of the field.

“It’s just making sure that we know where the looks are and being organized,” Gait said on Friday. “They kind of drop back or they have in the past that could change it up, but they’ve done that.”

The 10-man ride gave Syracuse some trouble in a couple games last season. During the first half of SU’s first round NCAA Tournament win over Harvard, it was 3-for-6 on clears, falling behind 8-2.

Heaving the ball downfield likely isn’t the ideal outcome Gait wants. It’s what defenders Billy Dwan III and Riley Figueiras were often forced to do Sunday. Typically, it’s used out of desperation to get the ball over midfield before 30 seconds runs out on the shot clock. The easier solution is to break quickly or get the ball to midfielders, who can outrace defenders into the opposite half.

Syracuse seldom did that Sunday.

Next week provides a similar challenge for Syracuse. Saint Joseph’s is another 10-man-ride-heavy team, and considering SU’s talent heavily outweighs SJU’s, the Hawks are going to look for any advantage. When Saint Joseph’s head coach Scott Meehan watched SU’s film this week, he’ll be licking his chops after seeing its execution while clearing.

“(We) probably would have loved to have a couple of the opportunities back, but won the game. So you can never complain about a win, especially against a really good team in BU,” Dwan said postgame. “Obviously, as the shot clock winds down, you probably got to put more of a look at the cage. And obviously, like I said, some of those you’d probably like to have back. But all in all, I thought it was a good team win.”

Polley labeled BU’s 10-man ride as a “staple,” and it’s part of their identity. He acknowledged the risks it comes with like when Syracuse scored with a second left in the first half.

Dwan tossed a long ball downfield to Finn Thomson, who switched the ball to a wide-open Payton Anderson. Luke Davis and Phillips tried closing Anderson down, but the sophomore played a simple pass to Wyatt Hottle, for an easy finish. The score put Syracuse up 6-3 and BU never got within that margin the rest of the game.

“I was happy with the way that we did it,” Polley said. “I think we had a good plan, and we were able to get a bunch back, which is part of what we do, and whether we get them back in the half field, or we get them in between the lines, or they shoot it, and we count those as all ride backs.”

Gait adjusted in the second half by dropping Joey Spallina back in Syracuse’s half to give its defenders an outlet. Last season, SU used Owen Hiltz in a similar role when its clearing game was stale.

Looking back, Gait said he probably would’ve done a couple things differently, harping on the need to clear space, while emphasizing the need for more dodging to clear.

Sloppiness aside, Syracuse got the job done Sunday. BU isn’t a pushover and returned a ton of talent from its 2025 team, which came one game away from making the NCAA Tournament. It started with its stubborn defense. Dwan and Figueiras set the tone along with short-stick defensive midfielders Dante Bowen and Jake Spallina.

Spallina recorded at least five points for the 29th time in his career, while Anderson recorded three points at left attack, a position occupied by Hiltz the last four years. Three other players recorded multiple goals.

“I can’t speak for the other 74 coaches, but Syracuse is so talented and so slick that when they do get those opportunities and they excel in transition. So certainly, we had a long discussion about, ‘Hey, do we 10-man every time?’ Just because if they break your press, they’re coming down unsettled, and it’s pretty frightening.”

Whether Syracuse will be more proficient clearing the ball going forward remains to be seen. Next Saturday will be another test.

The Orange can prove their clearing woes were just an aberration. If they don’t, then it could be the Achilles heel of a supremely talented team.

Published on February 1, 2026 at 10:28 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22