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BALTIMORE — Syracuse and Johns Hopkins are collegiate lacrosse’s greatest rivals. But, per S.L. Price’s recent ledger on the sport, their rivalry took a while to heat up.

The Blue Jays won nine of the schools’ first 10 meetings. With eight of those wins under JHU’s belt in 1971, it didn’t bother scheduling Syracuse anymore. Then-Johns Hopkins head coach Bob Scott said JHU would be better off playing against itself.

That statement irked SU head coach Roy Simmons Jr. When the schools collided in the 1983 national championship, Simmons addressed a Piscataway, New Jersey, ballroom made up of both teams on the eve of the title game. His speech began by seemingly purposely omitting the ‘S’ in Johns Hopkins. It ended with a pointed prediction.

The next day, the sky that dawned “Blue Jay blue” would end in an Orange sunset.

Simmons Jr. was right — but he needed a near-miraculous comeback to do so. Eight Orange goals in eight minutes pushed Syracuse to its first national championship with a 17-16 win. In the immediate aftermath, Scott offered his congratulations on the Piscataway turf, and said the teams should start playing every year.

Forty-three years and 53 matchups later, the rivalry was rekindled Saturday. And, despite a gloomy gray day in Charm City, the Orange reigned supreme in the end. No. 10 Syracuse (4-2, Atlantic Coast) defeated No. 11 Johns Hopkins (4-1, Big Ten) 12-8, its third straight victory in the rivalry. Joey Spallina had seven points, while Maryland native Luke Rhoa had four to propel SU’s attack.

Meanwhile, goalie Jimmy McCool saved 63.6% percent of the shots on goal he faced, and Billy Dwan paired his own defensive efforts with two goals to push the Orange across the line.

Spallina began to reclaim the bragging rights by rifling a low shot below JHU goalie Oren Gelinas — making his first start of the season — on a fourth-quarter man-up opportunity to make it 8-5.

Fifty-six seconds later, the Orange had their largest lead of the day. Rhoa netted his second of the day. A Chuck Rawson dent to SU’s lead was answered in earnest when John Mullen won the ensuing draw — part of a 11-for-20 day at X — and dashed downfield. The move was capped with Mullen’s second goal of the season.

The goalscoring picked up as if both teams were throwing haymakers in the final round of title fight — a place these two teams are used to facing each other. But with the Orange matching each Blue Jay blow, Syracuse held onto the lead.

Syracuse’s short-stick midfield unit was completely rebuilt this campaign, and they showed what they can do early, forcing the Blue Jays into two errant clears. On the second turnover, Rhoa capitalized by blasting the opening goal past Gelinas less than two minutes in.

SU had some gaffes of its own, committing to 14 combined first-quarter turnovers by two teams that have taken care of the ball well to begin the year. This was sloppier than a soup sandwich. The diagnosis for those symptoms? Early-season lacrosse.

The Orange cut through the lacrosse laxness when, with just under six minutes to play in the first frame, Spallina and Finn Thomson connected on a feed through the forest of JHU defenders to double Syracuse’s advantage.

The Baltimore Symphony’s Marin Alsop might want a word. There’s a new conductor in town, and his name is Joey Spallina.

The Blue Jays overcame their early woes when ever-reliable midfielder Matt Collison bounced a bid into the upper corner of the net. Thirty-nine seconds into the second quarter, Collison tied the game at 2-2 when he shed his defender, Jordan Beck, like a feather in the wind.

SU’s response was prompt — 46 seconds to be exact. Spallina found Thomson again. The result was the same: a goal.

The Orange’s fourth goal was a work of art — one that belongs in the nearby Baltimore Art Museum. Passing was a technically-transmitted disease, with no vaccine available for the Blue Jays. Dwan finished it off for SU after surgically zipping the ball around JHU’s defense.

Four goals turned into five soon after when Joey Spallina scored his first of the day. With three goals in just over two minutes, Johns Hopkins took a timeout.

The break allowed JHU to regain its bearings. Rawson and Hunter Chauvette’s goals drew the Blue Jays within one. Then, off a chameleon-eyed Rhoa pass, Spallina took his time to pick his spot, looking into the whites of Gelinas’ eye before blistering his shot into the net to restore SU’s two-goal cushion.

Dwan marauded forward to begin the third quarter. Given the space to wind up, he pasted a strike into the net, the second goal of the game for the Maryland-native defender.

As Hopkins began peppering SU’s net, McCool was equal to it. Gelinas had a marquee stop of his own when he leaped across the cage to deny a spinning Bogue Hahn short-range attempt in the third quarter that would’ve made it 8-4.

Would the Orange rue that miss? The initial answer was maybe, especially when the Blue Jays’ Charlie Iler tightened proceedings with 4:57 left in the third quarter. But Syracuse kept its distance down the stretch.

The ending was the same as Simmons prophesied and delivered. The Orange cut through the dreary Homewood conditions and took home a win.

Published on March 7, 2026 at 3:17 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal