Looking back on Syracuse men’s lacrosse’s 2 thrilling games against Harvard
Both clashes between Syracuse and Harvard last year were decided by one goal. The Crimson won the regular-season game while the Orange downed them in the NCAA Tournament. Angelina Grevi | Daily Orange File Photo
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The funeral procession was starting. At the half of its 2025 NCAA Tournament First Round matchup, Syracuse men’s lacrosse trailed Harvard 8-2. It seemed as if another promising season would end with a thud. The third quarter did nothing to turn SU’s fortunes. The Orange remained down 11-6 with under 11 minutes to play.
However, with the final grains of sand escaping Syracuse’s hourglass, it didn’t resign itself to a fate of elimination. The Orange found their form just in time. With five unanswered goals in one minute and 39 seconds, SU tied the game at 11. The JMA Wireless Dome was reinvigorated.
SU added a sixth straight goal with 3:32 to go to take its first lead of the day. A near-miraculous Harvard equalizer with six seconds left pushed the matchup to overtime. But, with the crowd behind it, Syracuse called game 51 seconds into overtime and escaped 13-12.
“Syracuse lacrosse is known for doing some spectacular things,” Gait said postgame. “That comeback ranks right up there.”
The Orange stayed alive — overcoming No. 3 seed Princeton in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 2 seed Maryland in the Final Four — but also exacted revenge. The Orange lost to Harvard 15-14 earlier in the season, a defeat that unleashed questions about SU’s championship credentials.
Now, Harvard is the one out for payback, and the Orange have the target on their back. No. 1 Syracuse (3-0, Atlantic Coast) and No. 14 Harvard (2-0, Ivy League) meet Saturday at Jordan Field.
Ahead of the contest, here’s a look back at the two thrilling games a year ago:
Early-season setback vs. Harvard
Coming off a 11-7 loss at then-No. 2 Maryland on Feb. 15, then-No. 6 Syracuse looked to return to the win column against then-No. 15 Harvard. Early on, it looked like the Orange would easily prevail. SU led 5-0 less than six minutes into the game, but the Crimson crawled back, never letting the game devolve into a blowout.
The Crimson scored three straight to close the first quarter, and never let the deficit grow beyond three again. By the time the fourth quarter began, the Dome was silent as the game was tied 12-12.
SU’s Finn Thomson finished with a career-high five goals, while Owen Hiltz and Sam English added four and three, respectively. The Orange’s John Mullen dominated at the faceoff X, winning 28-of-31 draws.
Possession wasn’t the issue. Execution was.
Syracuse scored just four second-half goals and committed 15 total turnovers — 12 unforced. Passes sailed. Shots came too quickly. Defensive miscommunications gave the Crimson clean looks, and they made them count. Teddy Malone’s early fourth-quarter goal gave Harvard its first lead, and another breakdown pushed its lead to two.
The Orange had chances late. Down 15-13, SU capitalized on a man-up opportunity to pull within one with 1:54 left. Mullen won the ensuing faceoff, giving Syracuse a final opportunity to tie. The look came, but Harvard goalie Graham Stevens made the save. A frantic final scramble ended with a shot wide of the cage.
Harvard stormed the field. Syracuse stood still.
The Orange had the start they wanted and the possessions they needed. They just didn’t make enough plays when it mattered.
McCool benching
There aren’t many feelings worse in sports than getting benched — sitting there, helmet on, watching someone take your spot. For most athletes, the first goal isn’t a title. It’s to play. When that’s taken away, even for a moment, it stings.
Syracuse goalie Jimmy McCool felt that in the Orange’s loss to Harvard in 2025.
After allowing 10 goals on 15 shots through 35 minutes, McCool was pulled at the 9:34 mark of the third quarter following a game-tying score. Head coach Gary Gait turned to sophomore Michael Ippoliti, hoping to spark momentum.
It didn’t come. Ippoliti allowed five goals in the loss.
McCool finished with a .333 save percentage, his worst career outing up to that point. Gait backed his starter afterward, but the move sent a message: Syracuse will adjust if it has to — even at goalie.
Automatic Mullen
Mullen did everything you could ask in both matchups with Harvard. But the possessions just meant two very different things.
In the regular-season loss, Mullen went 28-for-31 at the faceoff X — the second-most single-game wins in program history. But the extra chances went to waste, as SU scored just four times in the second half, and failed to cash in late.
A few months later, it was more of the same from Mullen — but this time, it changed everything.
Mullen finished 24-for-28 in the NCAA Tournament rematch, holding Harvard to just one faceoff win across the third and fourth quarters. During Syracuse’s six-goal fourth-quarter surge, nearly every score came right after a Mullen win. He set the table, and the offense finally ate.
In overtime, the script felt obvious. Mullen clamped, won it clean and gave SU the ball. Moments later, Hiltz buried the winner.
Season on life support
The Orange entered the NCAA Tournament — and their opening round matchup with Harvard — on a high. They ran the table as the No. 4 seed at the ACC Tournament, claiming the conference tournament crown for the first time since 2016.
But a week later, Harvard was the one on a tear. Despite the two teams being level in most statistical categories, the Crimson blitzed SU for a 7-1 lead by the 7:06 mark of the second quarter. Luke Rhoa was the only Syracuse player who impressed in the first half, notching both of SU’s goals, though it entered the break down 8-2.
“We’ve got some good seniors in our locker room. They kind of snapped the boys back into it at halftime,” Hiltz said.
However, even out of the break, SU struggled reeling in Harvard. The Orange had success winning the ball — capturing 15-of-16 faceoffs in the second half. But when Harvard did have possession, they were ruthless, scoring 12 goals on 17 shots on target throughout the game.
Both clashes between Syracuse and Harvard last year were decided by one goal. In the NCAA Tournament First Round meeting, SU Owen Hiltz scored the game-winner in overtime, completing a six-goal comeback. Angelina Grevi | Daily Orange File Photo
4th-quarter rescue
Just in the nick of time, Syracuse discovered its finishing touch. Rhoa lit the fuse with a trademark tracer bullet into the net, trimming the deficit to 11-7.
Twenty-eight seconds later, Trey Deere converted a man-up goal from close range. The Dome started to rise to a crescendo. Chuck Kuczynski cranked the volume up another level with his powerful strike 11 seconds later. With 9:11 to play, SU grabbed a third man-up goal in the span of a minute to pull within one.
“We had some (long stick midfielders) step up and score huge goals that are definitely crowd pleasers and get everybody involved,” Hiltz said of SU’s late performance. “I credit all the guys.”
The crowd. The quick ball movement. The scoring in droves. It all reminded Gait of “the good old days” of Syracuse lacrosse.
“Play fast, have fun — that’s old-school Syracuse lacrosse,” Gait said of SU’s fourth-quarter comeback. “We kind of dug into the history to bring back that have fun, play fast (mentality).”
The Orange tide wasn’t over. A fifth goal arrived soon after, tying the contest at 11-11. Then, with over three minutes left, Michael Leo handed the Orange their first lead of the game.
Harvard miraculously sent the game to overtime when Owen Gaffney put away a long-range drive with six seconds to go. But with a Mullen faceoff win to begin overtime and the SU offense humming, Hiltz applied the sudden-death winner.
Looking towards Saturday
On Saturday, payback will be top of mind for Harvard, which has gotten off to a 2-0 start. Though it was picked to finish third in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, Jack Speidell and Malone form a fearsome offense, combining for 77 goals in 2025. Syracuse, fresh off defeating then-No. 1 Maryland, is now the team to beat.
The weather conditions might complicate things. It’ll be the Orange’s first outdoor game of the season. They’ve historically struggled leaving the climate-controlled comforts of the Dome, losing three of five road regular-season games last season. Compounding matters, temperatures in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will be in the low 30s with expected snow — conditions SU stalled in at UMD and versus Cornell last year.
The recent history and Saturday’s setting all portend an engaging game. It also shows the varying identities of the Orange. Saturday’s test will reveal whether SU has the championship credentials in a make-or-break season.
