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Syracuse men’s lacrosse (11-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) will be the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the committee announced Sunday night. The Orange will take on Yale in the first round on Sunday.

The Bulldogs lost to Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament Semifinals Friday. If SU gets the better of the Bulldogs, it’ll play the winner of No. 3 seed North Carolina and UAlbany.

The Orange haven’t played Yale since 2017 and have won 11 straight games against the Bulldogs dating back to 1963. Meanwhile, SU lost to North Carolina — which it could face in the second round — twice this season.

Syracuse is searching for its first national title since 2009 and is loaded with a senior-heavy team. The likes of attacks Joey Spallina, Michael Leo, Finn Thomson, midfielder Luke Rhoa and defender Billy Dwan III are all likely playing in their last NCAA Tournament.

The Orange, for their part, haven’t been in their finest form as of late. They’ve lost three of their last five games. However, those losses have all come to teams seeded No. 3 and above. SU most recently couldn’t hold onto a fourth-quarter lead against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament Friday, falling 12-10.

Before that, SU lost at Notre Dame in its regular-season finale and also lost on the road at UNC on April 4.

Now, though, Syracuse has a fresh slate in the NCAA Tournament. It’s set on making it to Charlottesville, Virginia, for the Final Four. The margin for error is nonexistent.

“We’re still alive,” Spallina said. “There’s still much to play for. We’re not out. Plenty of teams are not playing any more. We’re just excited to have one more guaranteed full week together, and I think we just love playing with each other, so I think we’re just excited and just having that Game 7 mentality.”

Published on May 3, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal