SU men’s lacrosse rises to No. 5 in Week 7 Inside Lacrosse Top 20 Poll
Syracuse rose to No. 5 in Inside Lacrosse’s Top 20 poll, which was released Monday. The Orange defeated then-No. 13 Georgetown 18-12. Aaron Hammer | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse men’s lacrosse (8-2, Atlantic Coast) rose to No. 5 in Inside Lacrosse’s Week 7 Top 20 poll, released Monday. This is the Orange’s first time in the top five since Week 2 and comes after they took down then-No. 13 Georgetown 18-12.
Despite six of the top seven teams from last week’s rankings winning, Syracuse’s performance against Georgetown and then-No. 14 Denver warranted the rise. Duke and Ohio State both eked out one-goal wins over Denver and Rutgers, respectively, which caused Syracuse to jump them in the poll. The Orange are playing some of their best lacrosse of the season, winning five straight games in response to losses at Harvard and Princeton in February.
The Orange blitzed Georgetown in their first home game in 37 days. Despite falling behind 3-1, SU finished the quarter with three straight goals. That set the stage for a 7-0 scoring run in the ensuing frame. The Hoyas didn’t know what hit them, and Syracuse led 12-5 at halftime.
SU’s run extended to the second half, which ended up being an 11-1 stretch. Michael Leo tied his career high with five goals, and his third-quarter strike extended Syracuse’s lead to nine. A four-goal run from Georgetown couldn’t even begin to get it back in the game, and SU cruised to another victory.
Joey Spallina continued his stellar senior campaign, scoring twice and assisting four times. Finn Thomson recorded a hat trick as five different Syracuse players recorded multiple goals. John Mullen had a stellar day at the faceoff X as well, finishing 16-for-28 on the day.
Defensively, Jimmy McCool had his second-best day of the season, saving 16 shots, while the Hoyas leading scorer, Rory Connor failed to record a hat trick for the first time all season.
After Sunday, Colgate is SU’s only nonconference opponent remaining. Next week, the Orange begin their ACC gauntlet by welcoming undefeated No. 6 Duke to the JMA Wireless Dome. Syracuse has the chance to pick up its sixth straight victory. That would tie SU’s longest win streak under head coach Gary Gait, which came last season.
