Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse head coach Gary Gait held court at his weekly media availability. The cause célèbre was college lacrosse’s schedule. Gait didn’t hesitate to opine, calling for a later start to the season, increasing the minimum number of games played and more midweek games.

While some teams have yet to play a game, No. 3 Syracuse competed in its second Saturday. Amid subzero temperatures outside, SU hosted Saint Joseph’s at the JMA Wireless Dome. It was the Orange’s final appetizer before the entree against No. 1 Maryland Friday.

And Syracuse devoured it with ease. An 18-goal razing of the Hawks made the game perfunctory by late in the second quarter. Goalie Jimmy McCool was pulled to start the fourth quarter. But it’s just what the Orange ordered: To seal the game early and save their proverbial appetite for top-ranked UMD.

Here are some observations from No. 3 Syracuse’s (2-0, Atlantic Coast) domination of Saint Joseph’s (0-1, Atlantic 10) Saturday:

Bogue Hahn starts

In his first collegiate game against Boston University, Hahn scored a nifty unassisted goal. The No. 17 ranked 2025 recruit, according to Inside Lacrosse, charged, stopped, turned and fired into the upper-90 to extend SU’s lead to 3-1 in the first quarter.

Out of the gate Saturday, Syracuse put its trust in the McDonogh High School (Maryland) product, starting him ahead of sophomore attack Payton Anderson, who scored twice versus Boston University Sunday, though was ruled out with an illness, per a SU Athletics spokesperson.

Hahn had a look at an open net late in the first quarter, but he flashed his shot wide of the target. The freshman made a breakthrough with 5:36 left in the second quarter. The rookie ran down the right alley and ripped one into the roof of the net.

Thrust into a starting role two games into his collegiate career, Hahn didn’t look out of place. He slotted right into the Orange attacking destruction.

Faceoff fluctuations

Something rare happened to John Mullen Saturday. He lost a faceoff. Then, he lost a second straight. That’s how the Orange’s faceoff man began the contest against the Hawks: With Matt Fritz getting the better of him.

It was off-kilter for Mullen. He won 73.7% of draws last week and won 68.5% of his faceoffs in the Dome in 2025.

Mullen restored normalcy when he was thwacked on the head after winning the third faceoff of the game. But the junior had trouble gaining traction. After one quarter, he’d lost 4-of-6, and SU subbed in Drew Angelo to take the first draw of the second stanza.

By halftime, Syracuse trailed 7-6 in faceoff wins. It continued platooning between Mullen and Angelo. Mullen delivered a late first-half assist to Spallina when he picked up a ground ball and embarked on attack to bulge the net again 15 seconds after Finn Thomson scored.

Finally, in the third quarter, once the game was put away, Mullen and Syracuse asserted themselves, winning 5-of-6 draws in the frame. By the fourth quarter, Angelo was in, and he turned a faceoff win into a goal in seven seconds. With Maryland’s deep faceoff rotation, both will want to carry that wave of fine form into Friday.

Hottle heats up

There weren’t literal flames on the shot, but you could imagine it. Wyatt Hottle, the 5-foot-7 junior midfielder, unleashed a howitzer to push the score to 4-0 with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. The speedy Hottle fits a lot of punch in a diminutive frame.

Typically a player SU deployed in moments where it needed a jolt of energy and pace, Hottle has proven he can offer much more in the early going of 2026. He notched two goals against BU Sunday and tacked on two more versus SJU Saturday.

Sure, he still resembled Flash from “The Incredibles” as he leaves defenders chasing their tails and breathing harder than Darth Vader. But he also can stand you up and unleash a tracer bullet, which he did for his second goal Saturday.

Though, on his first goal, Hottle combined the two aforementioned abilities — speed on the move and speed on the shot. He raced to the left around the Hawks defense, gaining separation from long-stick midfielder Michael Waite. He then blistered a bouncing bid past Tommy Gross, who finished in the top 10 last year with a 9.15 goals against average in 2025.

Hottle continues his hot start to the season. With a combination of pace on the run and ruthless in front of the net, the Orange have a new weapon on their already-loaded attack.

Warming up for Maryland

For all of Gait’s complaints, he backs up his scheduling talk. The Orange scheduled No. 1 Maryland — the team’s kryptonite — in the third week of the season. It’s the same Terrapin team SU hasn’t beaten since 2009 and fell convincingly to on both occasions the squads met last year.

After showing some signs of rust in its opener against BU, Syracuse was nearly flawless against a respectable St. Joe’s squad Saturday. Its defense was locked in, allowing a mere two goals, while its offense was at its pyrotechnic best. Spallina fired up his Tewaaraton campaign in earnest with four goals and five assists. Start printing the yard signs and stickers now.

The sole fly in the ointment may be SU’s faceoff game. Mullen wasn’t his dominant self for most of Saturday but finished on a good note. That could be exposed against UMD, which boasts the best faceoff man in the nation, according to winning percentage, in Vermont transfer Henry Dodge.

Yes, SU’s first two games were easy. But the Orange did what it’s supposed to against mid-major opposition: absolutely pulverize them.

Bring on Maryland. Bring on the early litmus test. Bring on the main dish of Syracuse’s schedule.

Published on February 7, 2026 at 2:34 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal