Syracuse men’s lacrosse rises to No. 3 in latest Inside Lacrosse Top 20 Poll
The jump two spots comes following SU’s thrilling 16-15 victory over then-No. 5 Duke Saturday. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
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Syracuse men’s lacrosse (9-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) has risen to No. 3 in Inside Lacrosse’s latest Top 20 poll, which was released Monday. This comes following SU’s thrilling 16-15 win over then-No. 6 Duke.
The Orange entered the top five last week for the first time since February, when they were the No. 1 team in the country. Back-to-back losses nearly knocked them out of the top 10, and since then, they’ve slowly built their way back up. Then-No. 1 Notre Dame’s loss to Virginia and Harvard’s loss to North Carolina have allowed SU to climb back into the top three.
Syracuse’s win on Saturday was arguably the biggest of the season. Duke entered the JMA Wireless Dome undefeated — albeit playing a pretty weak schedule — and statistically had one of the best offenses and defenses in the country. What ensued was a back-and-forth goal fest where neither team gave an inch. Neither team led by more than two goals at any point, but after a breakneck first half, Syracuse led for the final 27 minutes and 48 seconds.
The Orange opened the second half with three straight goals by Drew Angelo, Finn Thomson and Luke Rhoa to make it 12-10. Duke kept cutting the lead back to one, but SU held onto its marginal advantage.
Joey Spallina was masterful again, finishing with six points. He’s now seven points away from breaking Mike Powell’s all-time points record at SU. Thomson and Rhoa both tallied hat tricks. Thomson somehow found crevices on the crease for quick-stick finishes, while Rhoa stretched out the defense with his long-range hammers. Payton Anderson got in on the fun with a career-best five points, including a slick underhand assist to Thomson in the first quarter.
The offensive explosion caused Duke head coach John Danowski to pull his starting goalie, Patrick Jameison, after he made five saves on 12 shots. Back-up Henry Blake wasn’t much better, letting in nine on 15 shots.
Meanwhile, Orange net minder Jimmy McCool, who despite being under 50% for the third time this season, came up big with four fourth quarter saves. He had the pleasure of trying to get in front of howitzers from Max Sloat and Benn Johnston, who combined for seven goals.
McCool might’ve had to make one more when Duke had the ball down one with 24 seconds left. Instead, Tomas Delgado was called for an illegal screen, and Syracuse held on for the win.
