Everything to know about No. 17 BU before No. 3 Syracuse’s season opener
No. 3 Syracuse opens its 2026 campaign against No. 17 Boston University, which is coming off an 11-win season. Angelina Grevi | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Syracuse begins its quest for its first national championship since 2009 this weekend. The Orange boast one of their most talented rosters in recent memory, led by Joey Spallina, Michael Leo, Billy Dwan III, John Mullen and others. They got their first taste of Championship Weekend last year, before a loss to Maryland derailed their season.
The message within SU’s core is clear: They want to win a national championship. Syracuse’s first step towards achieving that goal is starting their season with a win over Boston University Sunday. The Terriers won’t be a pushover and have been a threat in the Patriot League the past few seasons.
Here’s everything to know about No. 17 Boston University (0-0, Patriot League) ahead of its matchup with No. 3 Syracuse (0-0, Atlantic Coast Conference):
All-time series
This is the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
The Terriers report
BU came close to its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance last season. The Terriers went 11-4 in the regular season and finished as the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League, including wins over top-seeded Army and Colgate. However, they fell 17-10 to Colgate in the conference championship game.
Ryan Polley is the only coach BU’s ever had in program history, getting hired in 2012. Under Polley, the Terriers have won just under 57% of their games since their inaugural season in 2014.
Though BU lost last season’s points leader Jimmy O’Connell, it returns plenty of firepower in 2026. Mainly, reigning Patriot League Freshman of the Year Timothy Shannehan, who recorded 61 points (32 goals, 29 assists) last year, the most of any freshman in the country. Jimmy Kohr is coming off a breakout 57-point season after recording nine as a sophomore.
That trio was the driving force behind the Terriers’ success last season. They accounted for 59% of BU’s offensive output in 2025. With O’Connell gone, someone will have to fill that void.
Defensively, second-team All-Patriot long stick midfielder Connor Kehm is also back in the fold. At the faceoff X, Madden Murphy will have the task of containing SU’s Mullen. Murphy had a solid debut season and won 55% of his attempts, the third-best rate amongst freshmen last year.
How Syracuse beats BU
Syracuse will have to deal with BU’s 10-man ride, which Polley implements frequently. The 10-man ride is a tactic where every player on the field — including the goalie — pressures opponents, trying to prevent them from getting the ball past the midfield line in the first 30 seconds of the shot clock.
It’s meant to cause chaos for whoever has the ball and force them into mistakes. How Syracuse chooses to beat the ride is up for debate. In the past, Gary Gait has had an attack stand on the opposite endline, while a defender “shoots” a ball from their own half.
If the Orange can beat the 10-man ride, they should have enough firepower to get the job done. Gait shouldn’t overcomplicate the gameplan. SU should let Spallina do his thing and pick apart the defense from X, while dodgers like Michael Leo, Payton Anderson and Luke Rhoa should be aggressive on the wing. As long as things go to plan, the Orange will start 1-0.
Stat to know: 4
Syracuse has won all four of its season-openers under Gait and they’ve done so in a dominant fashion. In those contests, SU has outscored its opponents by an average of 14.25 goals. The caveat to SU’s dominant run in opening games is that the competition hasn’t been strong. BU is by far the strongest opponent for Syracuse in a season-opener since the Orange defeated then-No. 12 Army in 2021.
Strong starts have been a common theme for Syracuse the past three seasons, each of which the Orange have started 3-0. That will be tested this year with the BU matchup, as well as a meeting with No. 1 Maryland on Feb. 13.
Player to watch: Jimmy Kohr, attack, No. 14
Kohr was BU’s third-most productive attackman in 2025. Now, he’ll likely be BU’s second option after O’Connell graduated last spring. Kohr kicked off his career with a minimal role, starting one game across his freshman and sophomore seasons. He appeared in 17 games in 2024, but recorded just five goals and four assists on 17 shots. Those numbers were meager compared to the ones Kohr put up last season.
He registered multiple points in every game last season and came alive towards the end of the year. Four goals on April 19 against Lehigh were followed by two scores in BU’s win over Colgate on April 25. Across both of BU’s Patriot League tournament games, Kohl tallied two goals and three assists, which nearly doubled his assist total (eight) during the regular season.
