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Syracuse returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. After two straight seasons of mediocre lacrosse, the Orange faced a potential third straight postseason absence for the first time in program history. But for the first time under Gary Gait, SU made the postseason.

The Orange won their most games since 2017 (11) and finished above .500 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time in six years. An improved faceoff unit combined with a potent attack led by Joey Spallina and Owen Hiltz earned Syracuse the No. 4 overall seed.

In their first postseason action under Gait, the Orange clinched a first-round matchup with Towson, the champions of the Coastal Athletic Conference. The Tigers finished the season on a nine-game win streak, including winning their two conference tournament games by a combined 19 goals.

Towson tested Syracuse in the first half, but an offensive flurry to start the third quarter prevented an upset and the Orange sealed their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2017.

Here are some observations from No. 4 seed Syracuse’s (12-5, 3-1 ACC) 20-15 win over Towson (13-4, 9-0 CAA):

Mark’s struggles continue

Syracuse goalie Will Mark could not have played worse in Syracuse’s ACC Tournament loss to Duke. He registered a save on the first shot he faced, but then let in the next eight as SU fell behind 8-2 just 12 minutes in. The poor performance prompted Gait to pull Mark for the first time this season.

Mark didn’t start Sunday’s contest off too hot either. The graduate student let in the first three shots he faced and was slow to react to each of them. First, Alex Roussel and Chop Gallagher beat Mark before Josh Webber went down the alley and put the ball between his legs to put Towson up 3-2.

In his second season with SU, Mark has been one of SU’s most consistent players after keeping it afloat at times in 2023 when it had a porous defense. Ever since the opening faceoff against Duke, he’s been out of rhythm. Gallagher made it four shots in a row to beat Mark with 6:01 left in the first. Two more shots beat Mark and he went the entire first quarter without registering a stop — the first time he’s done that all season.

Mark’s first save came at the 13:45 mark of the second quarter when he thwarted Mikey Weisshaar on a shot from distance. That was one of just four saves on 12 shots on goal in the first half from Mark. The lack of shot stopping led Syracuse to trail 9-8 at the break.

As much as he struggled in the first half, Mark found his groove in the second. He registered four stops and only let in one goal, helping Syracuse separate.

2nd-half run

Syracuse didn’t play its best lacrosse in the first 30 minutes against Towson, especially on the defensive end. That changed once the opening whistle blew in the third quarter as the Orange punched the Tigers in the mouth with nine straight goals in the first 12 minutes.

SU seemingly got anything it wanted on the offensive end while Towson couldn’t muster a possession. Sam English got the party started and tied the game 9-9 just over a minute in before Michael Leo put the Orange in front. English added another, then John Mullen scored on the ensuing faceoff six seconds later.

Five different goalscorers got in on the act to finish off the run. Jake Stevens finished inside before Christian Mulé scored on a man-up to make it 14-9 with 6:19 remaining in the third.

After neither team created any separation in the first half, Syracuse created the ultimate cushion in the second. Its nine goals were the most unanswered it scored all season and despite Towson’s best efforts in the fourth quarter, nothing threatened the Orange.

Spallina’s dominance

If there’s been one constant this season for Syracuse, it’s Spallina’s excellent distribution from X. Teams have tried a variety of tactics to stop the attack at X. Virginia was extremely physical with Spallina and prevented him from initiating SU’s offense, leading to him to go scoreless. Other opponents like Colgate chose to not even guard Spallina at X while he looked for cutters at the top of the crease.

Towson implemented a mix of both, but it didn’t matter as Spallina got almost whatever he wanted. Spallina curled around from X, drawing a double team from Towson goalie Luke Downs. But Spallina reacted fast and finished high to put Syracuse up 2-1. He then assisted two straight goals before getting back on the scoresheet in the second quarter.

Late in the shot clock, Spallina angled in field to finish past Downs, tying things up 6-6. Spallina’s four first-half points were the 11th time he registered at least four points in a game this season. He finished with eight points, his most since registering nine against High Point on March 2.

Make it take it

A horrid 2023 at the faceoff X left Syracuse desperately needing reinforcements. The Orange already had incoming freshman Mullen, but brought in Tufts transfer Mason Kohn. The additions have warranted drastic results with the Orange winning 59% of their faceoffs.

Sunday was no different. Despite the back-and-forth nature of the first half, Syracuse dominated the faceoff X. Mullen and Kohn combined to go 13-for-19 in the first half against Matt Constantinides, who entered the contest winning 58% of his attempts.

Kohn even got in on the scoring. After Stevens tied the game 7-7 late in the first half, Kohn won the ensuing faceoff. Before anyone closed him down, he turned upfield and fired a high bouncer past Downs.

The faceoff dominance continued in the second half. Syracuse dominated the start of the third, winning a litany of faceoffs. Mullen took one himself, pushing the ball out in front of him and firing home his third goal of the season to extend SU’s lead to 12-9.

On the day, Syracuse won 23-of-38 faceoffs with Mullen recording a career-high 18 wins on 23 attempts.

Nick DeMaio scoreless

Nick DeMaio is one of the most dangerous attacks in the country, registering five points per game, tied with Spallina for the fifth-most points per game in the country. In the CAA Tournament, DeMaio was virtually unstoppable, exploding for 14 points in two games against Drexel and Delaware.

Early on, the attack was held quiet with SU long pole Riley Figueiras following him everywhere he went. DeMaio tried to attack from X in the first quarter, but tripped and fell before Figueiras knocked the ball out of his stick, forcing a turnover. The attack’s only point in the first half came on an assist to Weisshaar.

The struggles continued for DeMaio as the game wore on. He couldn’t find his groove and shook Figueiras, leading to hail mary shots from distance, which Mark thwarted twice in a row. Even though he entered as Towson’s leading point scorer (80), with 22 more than the next closest player, the Tigers were hesitant to run their offense through him. DeMaio’s one point was his lowest point total since Towson’s opener against Johns Hopkins on Feb. 6.

Published on May 12, 2024 at 10:20 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22