Previewing Syracuse men’s lacrosse’s matchup vs. Saint Joseph’s
Syracuse lacrosse opened its 2026 season with a dominant 13-6 home win over No. 17 Boston University, and looks to carry that momentum against St. Joe’s Sunday. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
The most anticipated season of Gary Gait’s five-year tenure couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. Sure, Gait carries a perfect record in season openers. But those victories came over lesser foes who couldn’t pose a threat to the Orange on their worst day.
Boston University — with its aggressive 10-man ride and No. 17 ranking — was certainly no pushover. Yet, Syracuse treated BU as if it were one, christening 2026 with a dominant defensive display to secure a 13-6 win.
During pregame warmups, SU wore shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Burn the Boats,” a reference to its scorched-earth mentality in its quest for a national championship. The next step in that journey is defeating Saint Joseph’s, which travels to the JMA Wireless Dome for its season-opener after its previous matchup against NJIT was canceled due to weather.
Here’s everything to know about the Hawks (0-0, Atlantic-10) before they square off with Syracuse (1-0, Atlantic Coast) Saturday:
All-time series
This is the two programs’ first matchup.
The Hawks report
If SU thought its clearing game wasn’t going to be tested after defeating the Terriers, it was sorely mistaken.
Just like BU head coach Ryan Polley, St. Joe’s head coach Scott Meehan is a big fan of the 10-man ride. For the uninitiated, it’s a defensive strategy where all 10 of a team’s players — including the goalie — press opponents to hinder their clearing ability within the first 30 seconds of the shot clock, thereby taking possession.
It was a significant concern for Gait entering the Orange’s matchup against the Terriers, and one SU sometimes struggled to adapt to. While the Hawks might not be as talented as BU, it’ll be important for Syracuse to adjust to the strategy in Game 2.
On the offensive end, SJU is led by Ben Dutton, a Denver native who is coming off a meteoric 47-goal freshman campaign. As the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, he’ll be the second star sophomore attack SU is forced to grapple with in its first two games.
How Syracuse beats St. Joe’s
Clear the ball. Simple.
On paper, the Orange successfully cleared the ball on 22 out of their 25 attempts last Sunday. But in actuality, their clearances often looked sloppy and labored. A lot of times, their defenders simply chucked the ball up ahead, desperately hoping a teammate would be the closest one to it when the ball skipped out of bounds.
That was due to the much-maligned 10-man ride BU offered, which initially made it difficult for Syracuse’s offense to get going. The defense isn’t an issue — last week’s showing proved that — and the attack can be just as strong when it has the ball. All Syracuse needs to do is bridge those two gaps effectively.
Stat to know: 73.7%
Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned NJIT game cancellation, St. Joe’s has no stats to remark on. But the Orange, on the other hand, certainly do.
John Mullen was doing John Mullen things on Sunday. Syracuse’s faceoff specialist was utterly dominant against BU, winning 14 out of his 19 faceoff attempts for a sterling 73.7% win rate. The effort earned him Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Saint Joseph’s primarily relied on Conor Trant at the X last season, but he ended 2025 with an unremarkable 45.4% win percentage. Realistically, the graduate student won’t be able to do much of anything to stop Mullen, meaning the Orange will likely take way more possessions than the Hawks in this one.
Player to watch: Ben Dutton, No. 20, Attack
Keep your eyes on Dutton. If the Hawks want any chance at winning this one, they’ll likely have to funnel all their possessions through him.
As mentioned previously, he led SJU with 47 goals as a freshman in 2025. No other Hawk even had 30 scores. He was the A-10 Rookie of the Year, an All-Atlantic 10 First-Team attack and a five-time A-10 Rookie of the Week. He ran roughshod over the conference, and there was no way to stop him.
Fortunately for Gait, the Orange probably have the means to. Whether it’s Riley Figueiras or Billy Dwan III, SU has the defensive anchors necessary to neutralize the sophomore.
