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Syracuse men’s lacrosse (9-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) dropped to No. 6 in Inside Lacrosse’s latest Top 20 Poll, which was released Monday. This comes after SU’s 14-9 defeat to now-No. 1 North Carolina.

Last week, the Orange received their highest ranking (No. 3) since being No. 1 in February. A win over the Tar Heels would’ve propelled them back to the top spot due to then-No. 1 Richmond losing to Notre Dame. Instead, SU faltered, and the Fighting Irish jumped to No. 2 in the rankings.

Syracuse and UNC went back and forth in the first quarter, with SU grabbing the lead twice. But following Tucker Kellogg’s strike late in the frame, North Carolina embarked on a 6-0 run. The Orange went 15 minutes without a goal and turned the ball over 10 times in the first half. Following the drought, their deficit never got smaller than three for the rest of the contest.

Not much went right for SU. Joey Spallina was held without a point for just the fourth time in his career. Jimmy McCool was benched in the third quarter after saving just seven of 19 attempts on goal. John Mullen only won 33% of his faceoffs against Brady Wambach. It was just a bad day for Syracuse after it’d won six straight games in March.

At face value, the result isn’t the end of the world. North Carolina is a really good team, and Syracuse just didn’t show up. On the other hand, SU had a chance to make a statement and establish itself as the best team in the country. Instead, the Orange floundered, and questions remained about their ability to win away from the JMA Wireless Dome.

“It’s tough to replicate a grass field,” Gary Gait said postgame. “(We) saw it throughout the game. The ball was jumping and popping, and it’s tough when there’s just nowhere to practice on grass, so you just show up and you try and make the plays and do your best.”

Published on April 6, 2026 at 10:15 am
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22