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There’s a mystique about the Dome. It’s been that way since its opening in 1980. Home field advantage exists in any sport. With Syracuse lacrosse it’s different.

Energy pulsates through the crowd as thousands of lacrosse-crazed fans go wild with even a small bit of action. Oohs are drawn when shots whiz just high. Ahs are uttered after a poke check steers the ball away from an attack. Then of course, there’s the explosion after a goal, and it only grows when the Orange initiates wild scoring runs.

Syracuse feeds off that energy. It always has. Under Roy Simmons Jr., playing fast became SU’s identity. Not much has changed since then, especially with Gary Gait, who played under Simmons Jr.

Sometimes Syracuse’s style is chaotic. Mistakes happen. Hectic sequences lead to stretches where fans’ necks are hurt because they’re trying to keep up with the back-and-forth action.

When it all comes together, though, it’s poetry in motion. Long poles marauding past midfield, attacks pulling off slick passes, which is accommodated by skillful finishes. There’s little opponents can do when a Syracuse avalanche comes about.

Just ask Georgetown.

The Hoyas fell victim to a classic Syracuse blitz on Sunday. The No. 8 Orange (8-2, Atlantic Coast) rattled off seven straight second-quarter goals — which was part of an 11-1 first-half run — to get past No. 13 Georgetown (3-4, Big East) 18-12. At times, the Hoyas didn’t know what hit them. That sometimes happens to visitors at the JMA Wireless Dome. Whether it’s a five-minute stretch, a full quarter or half, Syracuse always presents a danger of going on a massive run.

After 37 days on the road, which entailed six-straight away games, SU was chomping at the bit to get the Dome rocking again. That’s exactly what happened. Joey Spallina pulled the strings and recorded six points (two goals, four assists), while Michael Leo tied his career-high with five goals and Jimmy McCool was steady in net with 16 saves. All of which contributed to Syracuse’s fifth straight win.

“(The Dome) is the best place to play in college lacrosse,” Spallina said postgame. “I don’t think that’s a secret. It says there were 7,200 people (in attendance), but it felt like 10,000. When you start the score and you start to score two or three and a row, I think the place goes crazy and it’s just the best feeling.”

Being back in central New York meant Gait didn’t need to check his weather app Sunday morning. He already knew the conditions.

“The weather’s gonna be perfect,” Gait said Friday. “Seventy and sunny.”

It’s a metaphor that doesn’t need any further explanation. If you’ve played at or against Syracuse, you’ve heard it somewhere. Playing indoors creates the perfect environment for the Orange’s fast-paced play.

It’s why much has been made of SU’s road troubles under Gait. Entering this year, SU was 7-12 in road games since 2022. Ahead of Syracuse’s biggest season since Gait took over, he scheduled its longest road trip since 1972.

Syracuse started the swing with two losses to Harvard and Princeton. Though it bounced back with four-straight wins ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

However, that momentum seemed to halt against the Hoyas. Syracuse fell behind 3-1 within seven minutes, and Georgetown could’ve been up more if it weren’t for a couple of shots off the post. That’s when Syracuse got the party started.

Wyatt Hottle, Greg Elijah-Brown and Finn Thomson scored consecutively to give SU its first lead. That was the precursor for Syracuse’s 7-0 run the following frame.

The run had everything. A leverage dodge from Spallina at goal-line extended. A turn and fire from Thomson. A transition goal from Leo, which came after close defender Riley Figueiras made a rare forage over midfield.

The common theme? Syracuse playing up tempo.

“It’s nice when we do push in transition, and it’s nice when something that we focused on and we actually see the results of it,” Gait said postgame. “I get excited for guys when we push it up the field and they make plays, it’s fun to watch.

“It’s old school Syracuse.”

No, Gait didn’t get flashbacks of his playing days on the sideline, but Syracuse certainly executed his game plan. During the week, Gait said deciding when to go up tempo moments is a “hard coaching decision.” Score quickly and everyone celebrates. Mess up and the ball’s coming right back the other way.

“I thought we did a pretty good job today of understanding when to push it and when to hold up,” Gait said. “We probably could have had two or three more transition opportunities that we did pull up. We had numbers and I think he was just smarter to get a good possession at that time, so good decision making by the guys.”

It was instant offense, which was propelled by a 16-for-28 performance at the faceoff X from John Mullen. The Orange looked like they’d score every time they touched the ball — which was a lot, because of Mullen’s play — displaying an offensive rhythm that hasn’t always been there this season.

On Sunday, everything was clicking. Spallina pinpointed Leo’s first strike as when he really started to realize Syracuse’s rhythm. Even then, Syracuse was already up 8-4 with five minutes left in the first half. Still, it gave the Orange a platform to add three more to lead by eight at halftime.

“We talk about just having fun when we’re out there,” Spallina said. “I think when we’re having fun and we’re flying around it’s really easy to stack goals that way.”

Georgetown head coach Kevin Warne could feel the vigor on the sideline. He joked he got “heckled for 60 straight minutes” and even chuckled at a few digs from the SU faithful. As for what happened on the field, he didn’t know what to change.

Sometimes he feels coaches overreact and change 45 different things. Instead, he saw his team give up “elementary lacrosse” level goals and didn’t feel like any wholesale adjustments needed to be made.

That’s what Syracuse does. The Orange make opponents feel uncomfortable and want you to get drawn into a track meet.

“One thing led to another, and they were able to get a few and roll with it,” Warne said of SU’s run.

There was a simplicity to Syracuse’s play. It made scoring 17 goals in three quarters look easy, which Spallina instantly shot down.

“There’s no such thing as easy,” Spallina said. “Everybody’s a really good lacrosse player. Easy is not even a thing.”

The Orange continued their momentum into the second half. A tally from Thomson and two from Leo put Syracuse up 15-6 for its largest lead of the game. Georgetown responded with a four-goal run, but Luke Rhoa and Hottle stopped the bleeding.

The final frame got a little hairy after Chuck Kuczynski was ejected for an illegal body check to the head with SU up six. But Georgetown scored just once during that stretch and never got SU’s lead within four the rest of the way.

If it wasn’t for Syracuse managing the game in the final minutes, the total could’ve been more. Alas, the Orange did enough in their second-to-last nonconference game and ahead of ACC play, Gait has Syracuse heading in the right direction.

SU’s last meeting with Georgetown signaled an end of an era. An 18-8 defeat in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was John Desko’s last game after 23 years helming the program.

That initiated Gait’s current five-year journey as Syracuse’s head coach.

There have been bumps in the road, including two straight years without an NCAA Tournament appearance. Though Gait has ushered stability back into the program. It’s not always perfect, but if Syracuse plays like it did against Georgetown Sunday, there’s no telling how far it can go.

Published on March 22, 2026 at 3:38 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22