What it would take for Syracuse to win 1st NCAA Tournament title since 2009
Syracuse begins its NCAA Tournament run to its first national title since 2009 on Sunday in the JMA Wireless Dome against Yale. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
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As he stood off to the side at Charlotte’s American Legion Stadium Friday, earbuds dangling off his earlobes, Joey Spallina summed it all up with just a few words.
“We’re still alive,” Spallina said. “We have much to play for.”
Syracuse just saw its bid for a second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference championship die with a loss to North Carolina. But with its NCAA Tournament ticket punched, SU’s real test is ahead. After the Orange fell short in last year’s Final Four, Spallina entered 2026 only focused on a national championship. Riley Figueiras felt the same way, saying a title is the only way he could live up to his famed No. 11.
This is the last hoorah for SU’s widely hailed 2022 recruiting class. It has one last chance to bring home Syracuse’s first NCAA Tournament title since 2009. Here’s the path No. 6 seed SU (11-5, 2-2 ACC) will likely have to take to get there:
First Round: Yale
Considering how inauspiciously Yale began its season, it’s a minor miracle it even made it to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs began their campaign with a six-goal loss to Army, barely squeaked past Fairfield four games later and finished their first seven games at 3-4. Any hope of an at-large bid seemed dead in the water.
Then Yale rattled off six consecutive wins to close its regular season — punctuated by top-10 triumphs over Cornell and Harvard — and somehow managed to sneak its way back into the bubble. Now, the Bulldogs will trek to Syracuse to begin their NCAA Tournament run.
Defensively, these teams aren’t too far apart. Yale has conceded an average of 10.5 goals per game, ever-so-slightly higher than SU’s 10.3.
A big reason for the Bulldogs’ defensive success is sophomore netminder Ben Friedman, who became the starter after their aforementioned loss to Army. Friedman currently sports a 56.2% save rate, barely higher than Jimmy McCool’s 54.6% rate for SU.
Offensively, the numbers aren’t all that different either, though the talent certainly is. Yale’s attack — led by Connor Gately and Sean Grogan — averages 12.6 goals per game, just below SU’s 12.8.
Although Yale lacks an explosive threat like Spallina or Michael Leo, one could argue its attack is more balanced than Syracuse’s. Nine Bulldogs have scored at least 10 goals this year compared to SU’s six.
Quarterfinals: Likely No. 3 seed North Carolina
No. 3 seed UNC takes on America East Conference champion UAlbany to open its NCAA Tournament run, but in all honesty, the Great Danes don’t have much of a chance at victory. Owen Duffy and Dominic Pietramala will run roughshod over UAlbany’s defense, setting up a potential third matchup between the Orange and the Tar Heels.
Syracuse has probably had enough of North Carolina recently. When SU trekked to Chapel Hill to take on UNC on April 4, there was a snafu with its attempts to practice on the Tar Heels’ grass fields, a factor which likely contributed to its 14-9 loss.
“It’s tough when there’s just nowhere to practice on grass,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said after that loss. “So you just show up, you try to make the plays and do your best.”
Syracuse’s defenses collapses on North Carolina’s Brevin Wilson in the Orange’s ACC Tournament loss. The two squads have matched up twice this season and have a chance to meet again in the NCAA Tournament. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
The two squads matched up again at American Legion Memorial Stadium last Friday, this time on turf, but the playing surface didn’t change the outcome. The Tar Heels still won, albeit by a more competitive 12-10 scoreline, after Syracuse led 9-7 early in the fourth quarter and squandered it late.
Pietramala bullied SU the first time, lighting up McCool for five goals, but Duffy dissected Syracuse’s defense with a career-high six assists in the ACC Tournament matchup. North Carolina’s success is dependent on the pair. By shutting them down — just as Virginia did in the ACC Tournament Final — Syracuse shuts down UNC.
The Orange have had two tries to do so. Perhaps the third time’s the charm.
Semifinals: Likely No. 2 seed Notre Dame or No. 7 seed Cornell
If Syracuse advances past UNC to Championship Weekend, it’ll likely face No. 2 seed Notre Dame. But No. 7 seed Cornell is no scrub either. It’s impossible to fully write off the defending champions.
Tewaaraton-winning attack C.J. Kirst isn’t around anymore. He’s been replaced by Willem Firth, another Tewaaraton finalist who leads Cornell with 80 points.
But Ryan Goldstein is back as the Robin to Firth’s Batman, and the diminutive junior slots in just behind Firth with 33 goals and 64 points. After that aforementioned loss to Yale — where Goldstein was held pointless for the first time all season — he scored in six consecutive wins to help the Big Red secure their spot as a seeded team.
However, there’s nothing to be ashamed about if Cornell’s season ends with a loss to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the best teams in the nation, and if Virginia didn’t exist, they would’ve likely been entering as undefeated ACC champions, and the preeminent favorite to take it all home.
Syracuse played ND at Arlotta Stadium to close its regular season, and much like its ACC Tournament matchup against North Carolina, got off to a very strong start with an 8-7 halftime lead. But just like against the Tar Heels, the Orange wilted late in a 16-11 loss.
Shawn Lyght was a big reason why. The Tewaaraton finalist is the keystone on a Notre Dame defense that has allowed 8.83 goals per game thus far, a mark that ranks seventh in the nation. Spallina scored a first-half hat trick when the two faced off, but Lyght won the matchup — and the game — when it mattered.
If SU wants to advance to the national championship, it’ll have to get past Lyght for four consecutive quarters.
Finals: Likely No. 1 Princeton
On a road full of familiar faces for Syracuse, odds are it’ll face another in the NCAA Tournament Final. The Orange already played Princeton on Feb. 27, and the outcome for SU was disastrous.
Its offense looked utterly stagnant in the 11-7 loss. A big reason why was Spallina being held pointless for the third time in his career. The Tigers’ stars weren’t all that productive that day, with zero hat tricks and just one goal between Chad Palumbo and Colin Burns.
But in the end, it didn’t matter. Princeton was too deep for Syracuse to handle.
Jack Stahl was tasked with marking Spallina, and the defender might’ve given Spallina his toughest task all season. In the Tigers’ midfield, Tucker Wade has become a problem with 29 goals. Burns has performed well in the attack with 26 scores and 42 points, while Palumbo and Nate Kabiri both carry at least 60 points into the NCAA Tournament.
Princeton lost its season opener 13-7 against Penn State and suffered a 13-11 loss to Cornell on March 21. But since then, it’s looked like the best team in the nation by a mile, pounding the Big Red 19-9 to secure the Ivy League championship Sunday. If Syracuse wants to claim its ever-elusive national championship, it’ll have to make the Tigers look human for once.
