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Syracuse men’s lacrosse fell outside of Inside Lacrosse’s weekly rankings for the first time since 2019 after its 10-7 loss to then-unranked Johns Hopkins.

The Orange were last unranked after losing to Colgate in their 2019 season-opener on Feb. 8. They bounced back the following week after beating then-No. 14 UAlbany, climbing to No. 20 in the rankings. Since then, Syracuse has never been ranked lower than No. 20.

This season, SU has only risen in Inside Lacrosse’s poll twice after a win over Holy Cross and a loss to No. 1 Maryland. But since the third week of play, it’s been on a constant decline out of the top-20 rankings, falling from No. 14 two weeks ago to No. 17 last week before landing completely out of the rankings.

Against the Blue Jays, head coach Gary Gait said that Syracuse’s defense played its “best game of the year,” but struggled in situational plays like after faceoffs or in transition. After heading into the halftime break tied 4-4, the Orange allowed Johns Hopkins to get off to a 3-1 run in the third period to take control over the game.

The Blue Jays moved up to No. 18 after defeating the Orange while Syracuse remains the only ACC team outside the top 20. Notre Dame sits at No. 16 despite a 1-3 start to the season.

The Orange will next play Stony Brook on the road before facing No. 14 Duke at home the following week. The Seawolves haven’t been inside the top-20 rankings the entire season, while Duke fell from No. 8 last week after losing to Loyola 12-10.

Published on March 14, 2022 at 12:14 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu