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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Three hundred sixty-three days ago, Joey Spallina did what Joey Spallina does, on this very field, in the most important game of his career to that point. He’d played in NCAA Tournament games, Atlantic Coast Conference championships, even heated ACC rivalry contests.

But nothing matched the occasion of last year’s NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against Princeton. He rose to it with eight points, dominating the Tigers in his homeland of Long Island to punch Syracuse’s ticket to its first Final Four since 2013.

Few people ever get a chance to experience déjà vu. Spallina had the opportunity Saturday, when he returned to James M. Shuart Stadium with a chance to send Syracuse to its second consecutive Final Four. He was excited to have his dad, Joe Spallina, watching in the stands. He was excited to hear the Hofstra public address announcer once more, who he’s known since he was a child. He was excited to have a bacon, egg and cheese.

And he was excited to win. That too, of course.

“I think we’ve just been playing in every kind of game, and in every big moment,” Spallina said after SU’s first-round win over Yale. “So I think we’re ready to go.”

He did everything he could to ensure that would be the outcome, scoring three goals and picking up three assists Saturday. Just like his performance against Princeton, his efforts were everything No. 6 seed Syracuse (13-5, 2-2 ACC) needed to secure a 13-11 win over No. 3 seed North Carolina (13-5, 2-2 ACC) in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. With the victory, SU secured a spot in the Final Four for the second straight season.

The start was almost identical to SU’s matchup against the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament. Saturday was a defensive battle, again subverting everyone’s expectations for a matchup between two powerhouse offenses.

It took both sides nearly 14 minutes to get on the board. Partially due to solid defense — both Jimmy McCool and UNC goalie Kent Goode saved their first three shots on goal — but also just plain sloppy play. Syracuse failed a clear not even three minutes, but North Carolina did nothing with the possession. All Gary Merrill did was commit a turnover on a missed pass.

There was a brief respite from this defensive slog. Peter Thomann got the Tar Heels started with a snipe past McCool, and immediately after, John Mullen continued his hot streak in the NCAA Tournament with a third consecutive faceoff win over Brady Wambach. Just like he did against Yale, he ran straight to the net, catching UNC’s defense off guard with a vicious twister.

All of a sudden, this sloppy scoreless battle had become a 1-1 game, with both goals coming within six seconds. It precipitated an offensive avalanche in the second quarter.

Four minutes into the second frame, Anthony Raio made it 2-1 with a long-range sidewinder just past McCool’s outstretched stick. Mullen won the ensuing faceoff, but the possession yielded a blocked shot by Payton Anderson.

A minute and a half later, Ty English made it 3-1, with a dodge past Wyatt Hottle and a similar long-range shot. Spallina got involved soon after, dishing it to Bogue Hahn to give the freshman a spoon-fed opportunity for a crease dunk.

That goal didn’t do much to flip the game’s momentum. The next four goals all went North Carolina’s way. Wambach made it 4-2 first, winning his first faceoff of the game and replicating Mullen’s mad dash to net.

Then it was Raio, weaving his way around Riley Figueiras and putting his shot in the back of the net. With five minutes until halftime, Brevin Wilson dodged around Jordan Beck from X and rifled his try past McCool as well. Dominic Pietramala and Owen Duffy hadn’t even come close to making an impact, and it still didn’t matter. Something had to change for SU.

Spallina was at the forefront of the shift, feeding Luke Rhoa with a close-range goal to make it 6-3. He found Finn Thomson a bit later, too, finishing his hat trick of assists and making it a competitive 6-5 clash entering the half.

Of course, Mullen was there, looking like the world-beater of old. In terms of first-half shots on goal, Syracuse was outdone 13-9. But it wasn’t Mullen’s fault in the slightest. He ended the half 9-of-12 against Wambach at the X, and he scored another goal in a fashion nearly identical to his first to make it 6-4.

Once the second half rolled around, Syracuse was ready to assert itself. North Carolina began the third quarter with possession, and SU was down two men after some second-quarter penalties that rolled over.

But the Orange killed the double man-up try and miraculously got the clearance off with a cross-field skip pass to Hottle. Back on even strength, Spallina picked up a rebound from a blocked Rhoa shot and sniped his try past Goode to tie it at 6-6.

Not even two minutes later, Anderson dished to Hottle on a reset, and the diminutive midfielder bounced his shot into the net to give SU its first lead of the game. By the time Michael Leo got involved, dodging his way to midfield and ripping his shot into the net, the Orange had scored six unanswered to flip a 6-2 deficit into an 8-6 lead.

The Tar Heels couldn’t get anything going on offense, just like it was the first quarter again. Even when Figueiras turned the ball over near an empty SU net, North Carolina didn’t take advantage, with Caden Harshbarger giving it back to the Orange.

It took a Jake Spallina penalty to get the Tar Heels back on the board. Syracuse’s short-stick defensive midfielder laid a crushing blow to Raio after he released the ball, sending SU down a man.

Even Wilson’s ensuing man-up goal couldn’t flip the momentum back in the Tar Heels’ favor for good. With an assist from Hottle, Thomson finished off a close-range shot — marking his fifth consecutive multi-goal game — to extend the lead to 9-7 soon after. Then, not even 30 seconds into the fourth, Rhoa put his shot between Goode’s legs to put SU up 10-8.

The Tar Heels wouldn’t go quietly, though. Duffy and Pietramala scored their first goals of the contest back-to-back, tying it up at 10-10 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

But Billy Dwan III took all the air out of the room. Marked by Duffy, he took the ball on the clear himself, diving out of bounds and releasing it simultaneously. The defenseman somehow got it to Dante Bowen, who found Spallina directly in front of the cage.

Stepdown, 11-10. Automatic.

North Carolina wouldn’t lead again. Thomson’s third goal, which made it 12-10, effectively sealed SU’s second consecutive trip to Championship Weekend. All season, the goal has remained unchanged for Syracuse: win a national championship.

They’ll have a chance to do so next weekend.

Published on May 16, 2026 at 5:39 pm
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarDO