SU men’s lacrosse rises to No. 8 in IL Top-20 rankings
Syracuse jumped to No. 8 in the Inside Lacrosse Poll after wins over Manhattan and then-No. 18 Colgate. Solange Jain | Photo Editor
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Syracuse men’s lacrosse (7-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) improved from No. 10 to No. 8 in the latest rankings from Inside Lacrosse, the publication released Monday.
It’s the Orange’s second ranking improvement of the season after beginning the year as the No. 2 team in the nation. SU’s 16-12 home victory over then-No. 18 Colgate Saturday clinched its rise in the rankings. The Raiders dropped out of IL’s top-20 poll as a result.
Joey Spallina registered a whopping 11 points versus Colgate to lead Syracuse to its third top-20 victory of the campaign. Spallina’s now tallied 30 points across SU’s five ranked matchups this year, producing an average of six points per game.
His five-goal, six-assist display was the most single-game points by an SU player since Casey Powell tallied 13 against Virginia in 1997. Spallina now has 54 points through nine games.
“Today, I played well. There might be three or four new guys next week that have career games,” Spallina said postgame Saturday. “If we win the game, that’s all I really care about.”
The star attack was aided by sophomore Trey Deere’s four-goal day, as well as goalie Jimmy McCool’s 18-save outing in the cage. Elsewhere, SU’s man-down defense forced the Raiders into going 2-for-8 on extra-man opportunities. Faceoff specialist John Mullen also continued his dominance, starting the game 6-for-8 at the X to help the Orange blow the doors open early.
It was a complete performance from Syracuse — which passed the first test in its brutal gauntlet to conclude the 2025 regular season. The Orange still face their entire ACC schedule, beginning at Virginia this Saturday and followed by a battle versus No. 7 Notre Dame on April 5 in the JMA Wireless Dome.
Syracuse also has a neutral-site squabble with No. 1 Cornell in Long Island on April 12 and late-season conference bouts at No. 11 Duke and at home versus No. 5 North Carolina.
The month-long slate is crucial for the Orange’s postseason resume, though they’re off to a solid start already.
