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Syracuse men’s lacrosse rose two spots to No. 8 in Inside Lacrosse’s Top 20 Poll, which was released Monday. The jump comes after the Orange defeated then-No. 11 Johns Hopkins 12-8 at Homewood Field in Baltimore Saturday.

It’s SU’s first increase in the rankings since Feb. 9 — the Monday after it conquered then-No. 1 Maryland, thus moving Syracuse up to the top of the table. Since then, though, SU tumbled to as low as No. 10 after losses at then-No. 14 Harvard and then-No. 7 Princeton, plus a narrow overtime victory over then-No. 19 Penn.

However, the Orange never trailed in their rivalry triumph over JHU Saturday. After a sloppy first quarter featuring 14 combined turnovers, SU pulled ahead for good. The Blue Jays only trimmed the deficit to as few as two goals in the second half.

Saturday’s victory also served as a return to form for some key players. Attack Joey Spallina exploded for seven points to break out of a three-game slump, during which he totaled seven points. Moreover, faceoff man John Mullen went 11-for-20 (55%) at the dot, rebounding from two sub-50% outings last weekend.

“The two Ivy League games (at Harvard and Princeton), I don’t think were Syracuse lacrosse at all,” Spallina said postgame Saturday. “Penn, I think we started to do it a little bit towards the end of that game.”

“I think today was the first time in a bit where we looked like ourselves,” Spallina added later.

Plus, on the field where he grew up playing and his dad coached for 20 years, Syracuse defender Billy Dwan III scored two goals, further proving the Orange’s recovery.

SU remains on the road this week for the fifth of six straight away contests. The Orange travel out West to take on Air Force Thursday. The Falcons have lost five straight matchups, most recently falling 21-6 versus No. 6 Duke Saturday.

Published on March 9, 2026 at 12:54 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal