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Syracuse is amid its best stretch of head coach Gary Gait’s four-year tenure. The Orange are on a six-game winning run, and its latest victory may be Gait’s best as SU’s bench boss. SU defeated then-No. 5 Notre Dame for the first time since 2018 with a 14-9 win Saturday in front of a raucous 11,268 fans — the largest attendance for a college lacrosse game this season.

The Orange were in a 3-0 hole four minutes in, but they embarked on a 9-0 run, keeping the Fighting Irish off the board for nearly 40 straight minutes. It was the longest goal-less stretch SU has caused since it joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014.

To achieve that, Syracuse needed to be firing on all cylinders. And it was. Attack Joey Spallina got the better of ND’s vaunted defender Shawn Lyght, finishing with five points on four goals. Faceoff man John Mullen asserted himself, winning 16-of-23, including 10-of-11 during ND’s drought. Goalie Jimmy McCool registered 10 saves and a .526 save percentage. The Orange’s defense silenced ND’s Jake Taylor and Pat Kavanagh.

SU has another tough test versus No. 1 Cornell on a neutral site on Long Island. The Orange are looking to avenge a heartbreaking loss to the Big Red last season.

Here’s everything to know about No. 1 Cornell (9-1, 4-0 Ivy League) before its matchup with No. 4 Syracuse (9-2, 2-0 ACC):

All-time series

Syracuse leads 66-40-1.

Last time they played …

Last season’s meeting between the two nearby schools, on April 2, 2024, was on track to be another straightforward Syracuse win. Instead, then-No. 13 Cornell pulled off an 18-17 double-overtime win in an instant classic.

SU jumped out to a 7-0 first-quarter lead. Then, as the Big Red crept into the game, offensive coordinator Pat March’s dubious ejection derailed the Orange. Cornell erased a 16-10 third-quarter SU advantage with seven straight goals to take the lead with 10 seconds left in regulation. A near-miraculous Sam English goal with one second remaining pushed the game to overtime. But in the second extra period, Cornell’s CJ Kirst applied the coup de grace, his fifth goal of the game.

It wasn’t just Kirst leading the Big Red’s charge; fellow attack Michael Long added a career-high nine points. On the Orange’s side, Spallina and Owen Hiltz’s combined 12 points weren’t enough. Neither was Syracuse winning 21-of-34 faceoffs.

Hannah Mesa | Design Editor

The Big Red report

Cornell’s comeback win over Syracuse was the highlight of its 2024 season, which ended in the Ivy League Semifinals with a 13-9 loss to Penn. Still, the Big Red showed signs of potential last season. It logged four ranked wins — over then-No. 20 Ohio State, then-No. 13 Princeton, then-No. 9 Yale and then-No. 4 Syracuse. Cornell also came within one goal of overcoming then-No. 7 Denver in a 17-16 loss and then-No. 1 Notre Dame in an 18-17 defeat.

The Big Red have fully broken out this season. Ranked No. 3 in the preseason Inside Lacrosse Poll, Cornell has risen to No. 1 after SU’s and Maryland’s losses. The Big Red’s only blemish was a 13-12 overtime loss to Penn State.

According to Lacrosse Reference, Cornell returned 87% of its offensive production this season. That was headlined by Tewaaraton frontrunner Kirst, who’s averaging a nation-leading 4.90 goals and 6.60 points per game. But that also included attack Ryan Goldstein, who made a significant step as a sophomore with 2.80 assists per game — the sixth-most nationally. Long has pitched in 36 points on 19 goals and 17 assists.

The result is the highest offensive efficiency in the nation at 38.3%, per Lacrosse Reference.

The Big Red also returned goalie Wyatt Knust, who is posting the 19th-highest save percentage in Division I at .560. Cornell is susceptible on defense, slotting in with the 24th-highest defensive efficiency, per Lacrosse Reference. It hasn’t conceded over 14 goals in any game this season.

How Syracuse beats Cornell

Us beat writers sound like a broken record. But in a matchup that’s gone to overtime in its last two meetings, it’ll come down to who has the ball more and last. So, faceoffs, again, will decide this game. Mullen, SU’s faceoff man, is shining as a sophomore, leading the nation with 161 faceoff wins and ranking fifth with a .647 winning percentage.

Cornell, meanwhile, lost starting faceoff man Marc Psyllos. In his place, Jack Cascadden has logged a .598 winning percentage, 12th in the country. But good news for Mullen: Saturday’s contest at Mitchel Field in Uniondale, New York, will be played on turf, after his season-worst 9-of-22 showing came on the grass of Virginia’s Klöckner Stadium.

When Cornell does get the ball, SU’s backline will be in for a challenge. It boasts the tied for fifth-best scoring defense in the country but hasn’t faced any team with the Big Red’s offensive firepower. If the Orange can slow down Kirst and Co., SU’s offensive weapons must capitalize.

Stat to Know: 12.64

Syracuse averages the fewest turnovers per game in D-I at 12.64 per game. On the other hand, Cornell forces the 20th-fewest turnovers per game — the third-worst percentage of a team SU will play this season, just above Jacksonville and Johns Hopkins. This mismatch could allow the Orange’s offense to cash in on its possessions.

Player to Watch: CJ Kirst, attack, No. 15

Kirst has been among the best attacks in the sport for all four of his seasons in Ithaca. He scored 55 goals as a freshman in 2022, then upped his production to 65 in 2023 — becoming a Tewaaraton Finalist. The Bernardsville, New Jersey, native had his least productive campaign in 2024 with 45 goals.

Kirst has rebounded significantly this season to become the most ruthless finisher in lacrosse and the Tewaaraton favorite. He’s scored at least six goals five times in 2025, including totaling nine goals versus Yale. His bruising 6-foot-2, 210-pound build, matched with his fleeting footwork and clinical finishing makes him arguably the toughest matchup in the country.

Published on April 9, 2025 at 11:14 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal