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Syracuse men’s lacrosse improved from No. 11 to No. 9 in the latest Inside Lacrosse Top 20 Poll, which was released Monday. It’s the Orange’s first rise in the national rankings of the season after starting the year as the No. 2 team in the country.

To get a two-spot boost, SU claimed a crucial midseason victory over then-No. 7 Johns Hopkins Sunday. Syracuse rode an 8-4 second-half scoring margin and a four-goal performance from attacker Owen Hiltz to capture a 13-10 win.

The Orange took advantage of JHU attacker Russell Melendez missing the contest, holding the Blue Jays to modest numbers as SU goalie Jimmy McCool tallied a .545 save rate. Syracuse’s defense stood out in the ground-ball battle, too, picking up 32 compared to Johns Hopkins’ 20.

Star SU attacker Joey Spallina, whose hidden-ball trick goal with midfielder Sam English stole the show, posted four points (two goals, two assists) in one of his clutchest outings with the program.

His mystifying goal gave Syracuse a 9-8 lead after the third quarter. And Spallina’s back door pass from X to set up a Hiltz fourth-quarter goal put the Orange up 12-10 — placing the finishing touches on the game.

The victory was SU’s first over a top-10 opponent in 2025, and its second straight win over rival JHU.

“We worked really hard on just focusing on us and what we need to do,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said after the game. “I thought the execution was awesome, guys made plays and we came out on top. So, (it was) a lot of fun today.”

Though it’s only midseason, the Orange’s win over the Blue Jays was massive for their NCAA Tournament resume. Dropping to 4-3 without any notable wins would’ve put them in an unfavorable position without much wiggle room for missteps. But Syracuse delivered its signature win of the season thus far and is back in the top 10.

SU’s remaining schedule shows how big of a victory Sunday was for Gait’s program. The Orange have two consecutive nonconference games — one against Manhattan, one versus No. 15 Colgate — before beginning their Atlantic Coast Conference slate. From late March through April, Syracuse will take on a gauntlet — matchups with No. 18 Virginia, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 6 Cornell, No. 8 Duke and No. 5 North Carolina.

Going forward, the Orange will be without attacker Finn Thomson “for a while,” Gait said postgame Sunday. Thomson was unavailable against Johns Hopkins with an upper-body injury and stood on the sideline all game. Gait said he expects Thomson to return “in a couple of weeks.”

Thomson racked up 14 goals through SU’s first six games in what was proving to be his best season of college lacrosse yet. If prolonged, his absence would be difficult for Syracuse to overcome.

Published on March 10, 2025 at 10:13 am

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews