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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y — Joey Spallina was back on his throne. He was back on his native Long Island playing in an NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal game. He was back in front of his people — his family, his friends, a section of people wearing Spallina’s 22 “going absolutely nuts,” he said.

And Spallina once again compiled a regal display.

In case you forgot, his coronation came last year at this stage when he poured eight points to push the Orange past Princeton 19-18 and into the Final Four.

His jubilee arrived Saturday on the same field — Hofstra’s James M. Shuart Stadium — and it couldn’t have gone much better. Spallina exploded for six points on three assists and three goals in front of his people. It once again helped advance the No. 6 seed Orange (13-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) to the Final Four with a 13-11 victory against No. 3 North Carolina (13-5, 2-2 ACC), a team SU had lost to twice this season. In the first meeting on April 4, the Tar Heels held Spallina pointless. This time, in this stadium, Spallina would not be silenced.

“I pretty much grew up on this field,” Spallina said postgame Saturday. “I was here all the time. I would skip school just to go to practice.”

Spallina attended games there growing up when his father, Joe, was a general manager and head coach for Major League Lacrosse’s Long Island Lizards. After Syracuse booked its place in the quarterfinal, he looked forward to hearing public address announcer Siddique Farooqi.

The Mt. Sinai native, couldn’t wait to play back on his home turf — even if it was “very slippery,” per SU head coach Gary Gait. Farooqi called Spallina’s name six times for the six points he recorded.

“The PA guy, that voice will be forever just stuck in my head,” Spallina said.

Did the crowd wearing and chanting his name and number put pressure on Spallina? No, he said. He was more nervous to play Yale in the first round. That was his final game in the JMA Wireless Dome. Spallina was playing in his home Saturday.

However, when Spallina arrived at the stadium Saturday morning, he was dealt an unwelcome sight. He said the Orange were placed in the same locker as Mt. Sinai High School was in for Spallina’s sole loss in the building, a 12-7 defeat to Manhasset during his senior year in 2022.

Since then, Spallina’s been 3-0 at the venue, including Saturday’s showpiece.

“I had all my family here, a lot of my hometown friends, (you) probably saw them all wearing Joey Spallina 22 jerseys, going absolutely bonkers,” Spallina said. “I don’t condone anything that they did or said.”

Those supporters were shaking the moorings of the bleachers with every Spallina point and Syracuse score. They were also rubbing it into the UNC faithful in a separate section on the other side of the stands. Middle fingers and choice words hurled like the goals preceding them.

“I know they were absolutely nuts, but it’s just all about the team, and I’m just so proud of our group, and just proud of everybody that’s involved,” Spallina said, deflecting the féting he was receiving. “We just put a lot of time and effort in and to play a game we did today was great. I still don’t think we’ve played a full 60 minutes yet.”

Playing a complete game has been a substantiated accusation levied against the Orange this season. Just look at their first two meetings with UNC, when they couldn’t keep up in Chapel Hill and let a fourth-quarter lead slip in the ACC Tournament.

After North Carolina scored the first two goals of the second frame to take a 3-1 lead, Spallina was composed amid the maelstrom. He slowed SU’s offense and got an advantageous short-stick matchup. He didn’t force a pass or shot; instead, waiting to find a cutting Bogue Hahn, who roofed the bid.

Assists to the sharp-shooting Luke Rhoa and a favorite target Finn Thomson allowed Syracuse to trail by one at halftime.

In the second half, it was time for Spallina to get on the scoreboard. For the main attraction to do what he does well.

It was like fellow Long Island native Billy Joel singing “Piano Man,” but Spallina had the stick in his hands instead of the keys. Or Strong Islander Mariah Carey performing “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” It’s not Christmas, but Spallina has made the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals his holiday two straight years — where his goals ring the net as frequently as Carey’s dulcet tones inhabit the radio.

A minute into the second half, Spallina picked up pieces of a blocked Rhoa shot, blistering his shot into the goal for a 6-6 tie.

Then, leveled at 10, midway through the fourth quarter, Spallina put SU up for good. Billy Dwan III did the hard work, carrying the ball across the midfield, keeping it in play with an airborne pass to Dante Bowen as he tiptoed the line. Bowen set the ball up for Spallina on a platter.

The Long Islander gobbled it up like the bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches he said he craved last weekend when it was announced he was heading home.

The cherry on top was a low shot that whistled past UNC’s defenders. That made it 13-10 with 2:40 to go, confirming Spallina’s Long Island legend status.

How about his Syracuse legend status? He has a maximum two games representing the Orange. He set the program’s points record. He’s compiled numerous highlights. But individual accomplishments aren’t top of mind.

It’s about the team. He’s brought SU back to college lacrosse’s peak — a second straight Final Four for the first time since 2008-09 has it on the precipice; a national championship would seal it.

Last year, Spallina admitted Syracuse was “fat and happy” to be in the Final Four, where it was crushed 14-8 by Maryland. This time around, “there’s a lot on the bone that’s still there.” The Orange and Spallina’s eyes — as ever, sitting atop a thick, smooth coat of eye black — are set on a national championship.

“It’s a different year,” he said, recalling last year’s tour de force.

Spallina’s worn the famed No. 22 jersey with honor and pride, he said, hoping to “put it back in a better spotlight” it held when Gait, the Powell brothers wore the number.

“It’s just a f—ing blessing just to wear No. 22,” Spallina said on the ESPNU airwaves moments after securing Saturday’s win.

That appears in his performances, sure. It also appears once the game ends and Spallina spends half an hour signing autographs, posing for pictures — in the Dome and at home Saturday.

“That’s more important than being a good player, it’s kind of just how you treat people,” Spallina said postgame Saturday.

Almost an hour after Syracuse’s ticket to Charlottesville was punched, Spallina had time for one more interaction. He’d wowed the fans. He’d posed for pictures and penned his autograph on the field — make that his kingdom. He’d held court in the press conference for 15 minutes. Once it ended, a Long Island-based Newsday reporter peppered Spallina with questions as he walked out of the auditorium in the bowels of Hofstra’s Joseph M. Margiotta Field House and toward the elevator.

The elevator door started closing. Spallina was backing in and didn’t see it. The door struck him slightly. Spallina still finished his response.

Published on May 16, 2026 at 9:37 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal