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Syracuse men’s lacrosse climbed five spots to No. 12 in the latest Inside Lacrosse Rankings following its 15-14 win over then-No. 11 North Carolina. They gained 70 points and jumped the Tar Heels, along with Jacksonville, Delaware, Michigan and Villanova.

Despite a game in which the Orange struggled on the clear and at the faceoff X, Michael Leo managed to sneak in a diving shot past UNC goalie Collin Krieg with 12 seconds left to send SU to a second straight win. With Princeton falling out of the national rankings, Syracuse added a key win at a crucial time to keep its postseason hopes. The Orange currently sit 19th in the NCAA men’s lacrosse RPI rankings, three spots outside what would be the Tournament field as they vie for their first postseason berth since 2021.

SU has now guaranteed that it won’t finish below .500 on the season for a second straight year with two games in hand, both against top five opponents. Next Saturday, the Orange will travel to No. 4 Virginia, who slid down two spots in the national rankings after a 15-14 loss to then-No. 3 Duke. Syracuse will face the now-No. 2 ranked Blue Devils, which sit just 20 points behind Notre Dame for the top spot in the country.

This is the last season without an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which means that Syracuse — as well as the rest of the conference — will have to jockey for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. SU are now 1-3 in conference play, snapping a seven-game ACC losing streak following their win over UNC. Its only other win against a team receiving votes in the national poll came two weeks ago against then-ranked Princeton.