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What was happening the last time Syracuse men’s lacrosse beat Maryland?

Barack Obama was four months into his first presidential term. “Boom Boom Pow” by The Black Eyed Peas was No. 1 on The Billboard Hot 100 chart. Syracuse men’s basketball had just finished a 28-win season — yes, really.

That was May 16, 2009. The Orange men’s lacrosse team just topped Maryland 11-6 in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.

Syracuse wouldn’t experience that feeling again for nearly 17 years. Eight losses against UMD ensued. One of college lacrosse’s greatest rivalries turned into a one-sided fait accompli. After winning the 2009 National Championship two games later, the Orange haven’t reached the Memorial Day mountaintop since. Maryland, meanwhile, has won the title twice in that span. SU has carried hope into each matchup, only to experience heartbreak again and again.

That curse ended Friday. Then-No. 2 Syracuse downed then-No. 1 Maryland 11-9 in the JMA Wireless Dome. SU could cavort on the Dome turf while the 10,000-plus spectators were jubilant in the stands. The Maryland demons were finally exorcized.

How did the Orange (3-0, Atlantic Coast) end the skid? Here are four reasons:

5-0 scoring run

Let’s start with how Syracuse pulled away from Maryland to gain a lead it never relinquished. Down 2-1 midway through the first quarter, the Orange’s offense was stalling.

But then, SU scored five unanswered goals in under 10 minutes, jumping out to an early 6-2 lead in the second quarter.

The main factor for Syracuse’s spree was faceoff man John Mullen’s seven straight wins at the X, including four against UMD’s Henry Dodge, who led the nation in faceoff winning percentage in 2025. The game transformed into make-it-take-it, and the Orange capitalized.

“When there’s 10,000 people here (in the Dome), and you score a goal and then you win the next draw, it’s kind of just a compounding effect,” said SU attack Joey Spallina, who scored four goals.

Spallina started the run when he was left open on the left wing at the 7:12 mark in the first quarter. The star attack added a second goal three minutes later when he battled through contact to hand the Orange the lead.

As the clock dwindled in the first quarter, speedy midfielder Wyatt Hottle raced past short-stick midfielder Trey Fleece, wrapped around X and cashed in to make it 4-2.

Beginning the second quarter, Mullen continued his hot streak. He launched the Orange’s attack that ended with another goal 28 seconds later — this time midfielder Tyler McCarthy ripped a shot into the top-right corner.

You can guess what happened next. Make-it-take-it Mullen. Fifty-nine seconds later, Payton Anderson rifled a goal from close range. All of a sudden, Syracuse had daylight between it and Maryland. Though the Terrapins narrowed the deficit later in the game — getting within one goal — they never fully recovered from the five-score flood.

“When you can stack two or three goals and this place is going crazy, it’s a pretty tough thing to overcome,” Spallina said. “I think we did that today two or three times. And Johnny’s a beast.”

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Spallina silenced his critics

Spallina spoke in glowing terms about Mullen. But pretty much everyone else watching had praise for Spallina after his four-goal day against Maryland’s Will Schaller, who Spallina called the “best defender in the country.”

The 2022 No. 1 recruit mustered a single garbage-time point when UMD eliminated the Orange in the Final Four in May. Near the end of that game, Spallina was seen away from SU’s huddle during a break in the action with the game all but decided.

Things couldn’t have been more different Friday. Spallina’s four-goal haul silenced any remaining detractors about his big-game bonafides.

On Spallina’s first finish, he gained separation from Schaller and proved giving him space is like leaving the back door unlocked in a horror movie — you know what happens next. For his second, Spallina, the Tewaaraton Award favorite, used a Bogue Hahn screen to get a clear path toward goal. Bad news, Maryland. Spallina absorbed contact from defender Peter Laake, reset his feet and unleashed a laser.

“Joey’s a great player, and you let that guy get his hands free, more times than not, he’s usually going to have success,” Maryland head coach John Tillman said postgame.

Another pick at the 8:09 mark of the second quarter — this time from Luke Rhoa — allowed Spallina to find enough room to push SU’s lead to 7-4.

Then, with an advantageous matchup with short-stick defensive midfielder Eric Kolar, Spallina pulled a goal from near nothing, roofing an effort from an acute angle for the game-winning score during the third frame.

“Whether it’s starting off the ball, occupying my guy or trying to occupy somebody else, I’m just doing whatever I have to do so we can win the game,” Spallina said.

Oranges on the ground

Though Mullen went on a tear to fuel SU’s five-goal frisson, the faceoff numbers were level across the full 60 minutes. Each team won 12 draws.

However, Syracuse saw a significant advantage in ground balls, picking up 36 compared to UMD’s 22. It was part of a gritty SU display against a deep, well-drilled Terrapin team, and it afforded the Orange more possessions in a wafer-thin game.

It marked UMD’s largest ground-ball deficit since an 18-ball discrepancy versus then-No. 1 Notre Dame on March 1, 2025.

The Orange also took care of the rock. They were a near-spotless 20-for-21 on clears after experiencing occasional clearing struggles in their first two outings. Plus, SU only had 10 turnovers, tied for its fewest this season and below its 13.32 turnovers per game last year, which ranked third in the country.

Quieting Terrapin attacks

The last key piece of the puzzle for Syracuse to crack the case — or the proverbial crab leg — to defeat Maryland was a defensive masterclass.

The Terrapins possessed two attacks in Inside Lacrosse’s Top 50 players ranking — Eric Spanos at 17th, and Yale transfer Leo Johnson at 40th. Both only managed two goals.

“When we didn’t make a play on (offense), the defense stepped up, got the ball back,” Gait said. “We get scored on the D end, we come back, we score on the O end. So it was just a great team effort.”

Gait gave long-stick defensive midfielder Chuck Kuczynski his first career start in place of traditional defender Jordan Beck, who started the Orange’s first two games. Gait thought his team needed some “quicker feet” and said Kuczynski did a “hell of a job.”

“The way Chuck played today is just the way he plays every day: full speed, hard-hitting, tough kid,” Gait said.

Before facing UMD, Kuczynski said SU discussed its success against Notre Dame last year, when it defeated the two-time reigning national champion Fighting Irish twice. The Orange wanted to emulate the same aggressive, physical play against the Terrapins.

“Get out on them early. Show that we’re not going to give them any space. Press them. Make them really beat us by running around,” Kuczynski said of the gameplan. “And I think we brought that today … Just got out on them, pressed them and really made them work for all the goals.”

Published on February 16, 2026 at 11:56 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal