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Syracuse men’s lacrosse hopes the 2026 season ends with a national championship on Memorial Day in Charlottesville, Virginia. It began against No. 17 Boston University Sunday in the JMA Wireless Dome.

And SU started the season with a victory. It wasn’t convincing — the Orange had 17 turnovers as a result of BU’s 10-man ride — but they clicked offensively in the second half, and their key players showed their potential.

Joey Spallina recorded five points on three goals. John Mullen was near-automatic at the faceoff X, winning 14-of-19 (73.7%). Key supporting players Luke Rhoa, Michael Leo, Payton Anderson and Wyatt Hottle all scored two goals. Goalie Jimmy McCool notched a commendable .667 save percentage, as the Orange’s defense allowed its fewest goals since an 18-2 rout against Manhattan on March 18, 2025.

Here are some observations from No. 3 Syracuse’s (1-0, Atlantic Coast) 13-6 season-opening win over No. 17 Boston University (0-1, Patriot League) Sunday:

Mullen picks up where he left off

Last season, Mullen was a metronome in cleats at the faceoff X. He won 63% of his draws, but Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said the junior could jump to another level in 2026. He showed flashes of that improvement Sunday.

After winning the first faceoff on a BU violation, the second draw squirted through his legs into SU’s half. No bother. Mullen chased down the ground ball — with a speed that looked even faster than last season — and launched Syracuse’s attack.

Mullen remained as certain as a sunrise — and just as good at ruining the opponent’s night — by winning all six faceoffs in the first quarter. He did lose his first of the second frame, receiving a violation, and spiraled a bit, losing three straight in the quarter.

Normal service resumed in the third. Mullen battled on the opening draw, setting up a Leo score 19 seconds later. Twelve seconds after that, SU put the ball in the back of the net again. Mullen insouciantly won the draw. Three passes later, Spallina fired the ball home to make it 8-3.

It was Mullen on the scoresheet later in the third. He possessed the draw and sprinted downhill, capping the move with a tidy finish past Connor Phillips. Though Mullen cooled off over the course of the game, his 73.7% winning percentage propelled SU’s victory. It’s only the start of what Gait thinks will be an even better year for the faceoff man.

Spallina the playmaker

Spallina has been under the microscope his entire lacrosse career, dating back to even before his high school days at Mount Sinai. But the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class, lauded for his scoring, is equally — if not better — at picking out a chameleon-eyed pass.

Spallina tried in vain to kick-start the Orange’s offense early. But his feeds ended fruitlessly, as Syracuse rattled the post frequently in the first quarter. Finally, No. 22 took matters into his own hands to regain SU’s lead 2-1 late in the opening stanza.

To get his elusive title, Spallina will have to find the open man when he’s the main focus of opposing defenses. But it was back to his selfless game as Terrier defenders were attached to Spallina like teenagers to a cell phone. In turn, he repeatedly tried behind-the-back passes, attempting to bamboozle Boston.

His first assist of the day, though, arrived on a smart cross-field pass to Leo, who tattooed his shot into the top left corner of the net to restore SU’s six-goal lead. Spallina located Anderson across the field again, surpassing two BU defenders, and Anderson blasted his shot into the upper 90 of the goal to deliver Syracuse a 12-6 lead in the final minute of the third period.

The Tewaaraton frontrunner didn’t pack the box score in his first game of the season, adding a third goal in the perfunctory fourth quarter. Though Spallina’s passing vision doesn’t appear, it’s just as deadly.

Freshmen production

Though the Orange had plenty of returning starters, it did lose prolific attack Owen Hiltz (46 goals) and the versatile midfielder Sam English. How would they replace the key departures? One answer could be among the incoming freshmen.

The Orange’s highest-rated recruit was Inside Lacrosse’s No. 17 Bogue Hahn. The midfielder logged his first collegiate goal in the first quarter when he drove, stopped and turned to shake his defender.

Another freshman who saw the field Sunday was midfielder Ted Rawson, who ranked No. 88 in Inside Lacrosse’s top 100. Still, Gait turned to him early on to try to unlock the Terrier defense, and he recorded a shot.

On defense, No. 43-ranked recruit short-stick defensive midfielder Jayden Kittelberger checked in to try to address SU’s clearing woes in the second quarter. He also drew a violation in the fourth quarter as Syracuse closed out the game.

Though the Orange freshmen didn’t play an outsized role in the opener, their early contributions show they can make an impact at this level.

Boston’s 10-man ride has mixed effects

The first thing Gait mentioned when scouting BU Thursday was its 10-man ride. The aggressive defensive strategy has all players — including the goalie — apply significant pressure when opponents try to clear the ball.

“It’s just making sure that we know where the looks are and being organized,” Gait said of dealing with BU’s 10-man ride. “They kind of drop back, or they have in the past that could change it up, but they’ve done that, and they just called the middle of the field. So as long as we can keep our heads up and see the open players downfield, we should be in good shape.”

BU was conservative in the first quarter, not applying the ride at full-bore. But to begin the second, the Terriers pushed their chips into the center of the table — and it caused SU trouble. On two straight possessions, the Orange were forced to chuck the ball clear to prevent a violation, ending their possessions. BU’s ride was so aggressive that it included goalie Phillips venturing far from his net into either corner of the field to guard a Syracuse attack.

Again, later in the second quarter, Syracuse couldn’t properly launch their attack as McCool was forced to send a hopeful hurl upfield. Finally — finally — in the waning moments of the quarter, SU broke the ride effectively. Anderson selflessly dished to a leaping Hottle, who cashed in from close range with one second left in the half.

In the second half, the ride didn’t cause as many problems for Syracuse, as it pulled away for the victory.

Published on February 1, 2026 at 3:19 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal