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John Odierna doesn’t want to gas his guys up too much now. There’s still nine games left in the regular season, and if everything goes according to plan, a lot more postseason ones afterward. Syracuse’s job isn’t even close to finished.

That’s why, when SU’s defensive coordinator began listing his short-stick defensive midfielders’ strengths, Dante Bowen jokingly covered his ears. The senior short-stick doesn’t want to hear the praise because that’s simply not who he is. That’s not who anybody in the unit is, quite frankly.

If they wanted to hear consistent praise, they probably would’ve chosen a different position. Because it certainly wasn’t going to happen for them at short-stick.

“I always compare short-stick defensive midfield to offensive line in football,” Odierna said. “To me, it’s the most important and most underrated position.”

The short-sticks never stand out on the field. If they do, it’s usually because they did something wrong. They’re the target of more dodges than anyone, Odierna said. If they can’t handle their matchup, the onus falls on the close defenders to clean up the mess.

It’s a thankless position, and lately, Odierna has been thankful the Orange have had strong players in the spot. But after both of his top-line short-sticks graduated heading into this offseason, Odierna had to rebuild the unit heading into SU’s pivotal 2026 season. Don’t look now — but with Bowen’s veteran presence and a top-line returner in Jake Spallina, the unit has helped Syracuse limit each of its opponents to less than 13 goals.

“We feel good about our shortstick group,” Odierna said. “We think our ceiling is really high this year, because of how these guys have played so far.”

It’s not an unfamiliar feeling for Odierna. He liked the group in 2025, too, when he had senior short-sticks Carter Rice and Nathan LeVine at his disposal.

Jayden Kittelberger evades a Princeton defender in Syracuse’s 11-7 loss on Feb. 27. As a freshman, Kittelberger has chipped in with three groundballs and three caused turnovers thus far. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor

Rice, in particular, was a powerhouse. He saw substantial playing time in all four of his seasons at Syracuse, but his senior year was arguably his best. As he helped SU to the Final Four, Rice snagged 19 ground balls and seven caused turnovers, earned USILA Third-Team All-American honors and was selected 29th in the PLL Draft.

“He’s a sick athlete,” Spallina said of Rice. “(I) try to play how he plays out in open space.”

Spallina viewed last year’s seniors as a pair of older brothers. He models his pregame preparation after LeVine, he said, which helped him make a seamless transition into the lineup when LeVine suffered a career-ending lower-body injury against Duke last April.

With both Rice and LeVine gone this year, Spallina knew exactly what he’d to do to establish himself as one of SU’s top-line short-sticks.

“I honestly just told myself, ‘Try to be the best version of Jake Spallina that you can be,’” Spallina said. “‘Do what got you here, fall back on your training and just work hard.’”

Odierna always anticipated the jump. He wasn’t too concerned with the future of the unit. He knew Spallina, as a rising junior, would be prepared to elevate his game to the next level. He just needed that final piece — an experienced veteran who knows what it takes to win.

Thank God for Bowen. Odierna doesn’t like bringing strangers into the program. That’s why he was the sole SU transfer this year.

Fortunately for him, Bowen was far from a stranger. The Ohio State midfielder played box lacrosse with Spallina, his brother Joey Spallina, Trey Deere and Donny Scott with the Orangeville Northmen in 2024. In Ontario, Bowen heard them rave about Syracuse and built chemistry with Spallina, playing on the same short-stick line.

That made him a seamless fit for Odierna’s defense, even though it took him a bit to adjust once he got on campus. As Bowen put it, “lacrosse is lacrosse,” but different teams’ terminology doesn’t always match.

Zoey Grimes | Design Editor

Early in the fall, Bowen yelled out calls for certain plays using verbiage instilled at Ohio State. It took him about a month to smooth out that confusion, but as he learned the intricacies of Syracuse’s defense and spent time with Spallina and Odierna, he started to settle in.

“That was critical for me to be able to hit the ground running going into the season,” Bowen said. “That fall ball period was really, really helpful for me to get my feet under.”

The unit’s gotten closer off the field, too. The six short-sticks have a group chat and often go to Chipotle for lunches and dinners together. Their conversations have little to do with lacrosse.

“It’s a pretty close group,” Joey said. “I think they all just want to win.”

That strengthened bond helped the unit come out of the gate hot. In his first game in Orange, Bowen snagged two ground balls and forced a turnover in SU’s season-opening win over then-No. 17 Boston University. He has collected six ground balls and caused four turnovers in just six games, while Spallina has added five ground balls and forced four turnovers in his five games.

“I think they’ve done a great job,” SU head coach Gary Gait said on Feb. 19. “But they’re still getting better, still developing chemistry.”

That latter point is paramount. The Orange know the unit has room to grow. Its performances in SU’s losses to Harvard and Princeton proved that fact twice. The group bounced back to hold then-No. 19 Penn to just eight goals Sunday, though. As Joey put it, the short-sticks are the “grinders” of the team.

No one would ever confuse the unit for a finished product. But based on Syracuse’s short-sticks, odds are they’ll put in the work they need to get there.

“I know in the past, we’ve viewed the short-stick position as an area that needs improvement,” Odierna said. “And I would say this year, that’s been an area of strength for us.”

Published on March 5, 2026 at 12:27 am
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarDO