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.

PHILADELPHIA — Two weeks ago, Syracuse was the team to beat in college lacrosse. Now, it’s anything but that. After taking down then-No. 1 Maryland for the first time since 2009, the Orange stumbled. A one-goal defeat to then-No. 14 Harvard didn’t spell the end of the world. The Crimson were hungry after SU knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament last year, and it was a game the Orange could’ve easily won.

The same couldn’t be said versus Princeton Friday. Syracuse was completely outmatched from the opening faceoff, falling behind 6-0 and going the first 24 minutes scoreless. SU never had a chance.

Less than 48 hours after, the Orange had a chance to right the ship and avoid their fifth straight road loss, dating back to last season. A pesky Penn team stood in their way. The Orange meandered their way through the first two-and-a-half quarters but caught life in the fourth. A four-goal deficit was erased, and Michael Leo won the game in overtime.

Here are some observations from No. 6 Syracuse’s (4-2, Atlantic Coast) 9-8 overtime win over No. 19 Penn (2-3, Ivy League):

Spallina doesn’t go quiet

Joey Spallina had one of his worst performances in a Syracuse uniform two days ago. After unloading eight points on Princeton in last year’s NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal, the senior was held to a donut. It was only the third time in four years that’s happened.

All eyes are always on Spallina, and everyone wanted to see how he’d respond Sunday. He bounced back, finishing with one goal and three assists.

Not only was Spallina held pointless two days ago, he only had three shots. He nearly got on the scoresheet within minutes Sunday, but a tight-angle snipe missed just wide.

Spallina finally broke his points drought by setting up Leo to tie the game at three in the first quarter. It was a simple feed, which allowed Leo to step into his shot from distance. Later in the half, Spallina tallied another assist, this time on a man-up chance. He fired a beautiful cross-field look to Ted Rawson at the back post for an easy finish.

Although he had two assists, Spallina was still frustrated in the first half. After Finn Thomson had a flag thrown because of a late hit on Penn goalie Jack Pelot, Spallina picked up the yellow laundry with his stick.

He walked about 30 yards to midfield and tossed the flag in the direction of the ref. No official saw the play, but if they did, it could’ve resulted in an unsportsmanlike call.

Spallina was quiet before ending a 21-minute drought for Syracuse. He took matters into his own hands, getting inside leverage on Matt Wills. He avoided the crease, going air born for a back hand finish. Soon after, he came up with a loose ball and hit Thomson right on his stick for another goal.

Faceoff troubles continue

Entering the season, John Mullen was seen as a force of nature — one of the best faceoff men in the country. His start to the season was excellent, winning 62.5% of his faceoffs in the opening three contests. The next three have been a struggle.

First, he barely eclipsed 50% against Harvard, a team he went 52-of-59 against last season. Facing Princeton, he had the worst performance of his career, winning 37.5%. He looked like a shadow of himself, and that continued Sunday.

Early starts, poor clamps, missed ground balls. Mullen had it all. The Orange only won one faceoff in the first half. It was SU’s lowest total in a half since not recording a win in the first 30 minutes against Duke in 2024.

Though the scoreline read differently, it was the same story as Princeton. Syracuse simply didn’t have enough possessions to take control of the game. Mullen’s first clean win of the game didn’t come until late in the third quarter.

With the Orange heading into overtime, Mullen did win a crucial faceoff to give them possession. And that proved pivotal, as Leo deposited the game-winner soon after.

Penalties galore

Syracuse’s loss to Princeton finished with it playing four-on-six offense after Billy Dwan III and Riley Figueiras received late penalties. Those violations came mostly due to frustration because of a five-goal deficit. In a closer contest, Syracuse couldn’t stop putting itself in precarious defensive situations because of flags.

Penn’s two leads in the first half came via man-up goals. Jackson Maher found Nate Lucchesi for a step down to put Penn in front 3-2. Its offense initiated a similar action, with quick side-to-side passes. Once Syracuse’s defense slid to Maher on the wing, he made the easy read to Griffin Scane — Penn’s leading scorer — for a step down from 12 yards out, whipping it past Jimmy McCool.

Although SU gave up plenty of man-up chances, if it wasn’t for the Orange’s man-up offense, they would’ve been in trouble. Of Syracuse’s four first half goals, three of them came on the man up. On Friday, the Orange had just two scores against an even defense through two quarters. Sunday, it was one.

On SU’s first man-up chance, Leo dished a tough pass in traffic to Greg Elijah-Brown, who turned and fired. Spallina got his first point of the day, finding Leo for a long range effort, before tallying another assist.

Disaster third quarter, promising fourth

Syracuse’s third quarter was a nightmare. Despite playing poorly in the first half, the Orange only trailed by one. That could turn into a two-goal SU lead within an instant. However, that didn’t happen.

Instead, the Orange turned the ball over on four of their first five possessions in the quarter. They barely tested Pelot, and even when they did, he came up with tough saves, like a one-legged kick save to deny Leo.

Syracuse’s offensive struggles were compounded by Penn’s opportunistic offense on the other end. Ben Beacham, Davis Provost and Maher all added tallies to extend Penn’s advantage to four, while Syracuse went on a 21-minute scoring drought.

The drought ended with Spallina’s solo goal, before his assist to Thomson cut SU’s deficit to two. But all the hard work was undone when Wyatt Hottle was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty. Then came one on the Syracuse bench, leaving it with a four-on-six defensive opportunity to start the fourth quarter.

The Orange killed the penalty, which kickstarted a huge run. Thomson made it a one-goal game before Dwan III scored a miraculous pole goal to tie the game for the first time since the second quarter.

A tense final 10 minutes ensued. Neither team could break the deadlock. Both had chances to, especially in the last couple minutes, but nobody took advantage. Syracuse had the ball with 19 seconds remaining before Gary Gait called a timeout.

The possession ended with Spallina turning it over and sending the game to overtime. From there, Leo won it after beating his defender off the dodge and getting to the cage.

Published on March 1, 2026 at 2:37 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22