F
ew Lego sets are boxed with a significant age restriction. The meticulous construction of colorful plastic bricks can spark child-like wonder in anyone, anywhere, anytime. Just ask Sam English — Syracuse’s 24-year-old captain of the midfield.
His excitement was piqued this past Christmas when Joey Spallina, one of English’s five roommates, gifted him a Star Wars TIE Fighter Lego model for a Secret Santa exchange. Upon unwrapping it, English was pumped. Spallina knew that’d be his reaction. After all, he once saw English bring a Lego Star Wars advent calendar into their house, which Spallina called an “unreal” sight.
Why does English, a grown man, still play with Legos? It gives him something to keep his mind sharp while ensuring his innocence stays intact away from lacrosse’s violence.
“Damn,” English said, after gleefully describing the “floppy” wings of his prized Lego sculpture of an Ornithopter aircraft from “Dune,” by far his favorite masterpiece. “I really forgot how much I love Legos.”
English’s youthful antics stand out among his teammates. Now in his fifth and final collegiate season, English is known as the old guy. His relatability allows him to operate as Syracuse’s top veteran presence. He’s an approachable, fun-loving kid trapped in an adult’s body. He’s been through it all on the lacrosse field, but you’d never know it, because he’s too busy thinking about watching sci-fi flicks or what Lego he’ll build next.
For an SU squad with infinite pressure to win a national championship, English’s authentic, juvenile self is the perfect archetype to calmly captain the Orange’s locker room in 2025.
“We don’t know it right now, but the thing we’ll really miss about Sam is that he’s played in so many games and he really knows how to win,” Spallina said. “He brings so much experience and knowledge, and he’s just an all-around great guy.”
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English’s reputation stems from his rise as a prospect at Culver Academies in Indiana before starring with Princeton for three years from 2020-23. Bad luck interfered early, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing the Ivy League to cancel all athletics in 2021. But by 2023, he was finally reaching his potential.
A member of the Tewaaraton Award watchlist, English was among the country’s best midfielders. Until he ruptured his spleen in a game against Syracuse on April 8, 2023.
He then, coincidentally, transferred to SU before the 2024 season. The move was propelled by prior connections with former Syracuse midfielder Jake Stevens and current offensive coordinator Pat March, who helped recruit English to Princeton. English became a staple of Syracuse’s midfield, flashing his offensive prowess with 23 goals and 11 assists.
Although English got picked No. 2 overall by the Toronto Rock in the 2024 National Lacrosse League Draft, there was hardly a thought behind his next move. He still lacked a national title and had weathered too much adversity to move on prematurely. English’s parents, Kim and Andrew English, said even the Rock’s front office knew he wanted to run it back at SU.
“(Sam) did not think once about going to the NLL,” Kim said. “It’s such a special privilege to play college ball, and there’s no need to wish it away.”
Kim said her son yearned to increase his vocal role in the locker room and wanted to be the man his younger teammates looked up to. So, it was no surprise English was named a Syracuse captain heading into 2025.
Stevens, English’s roommate last year and teammate for nearly a decade, held that distinction in 2024. After Stevens graduated and joined the Premier Lacrosse League, though, he knew English was ready to take over because he helps build culture through his personability.
“Sam is unapologetically himself,” Stevens said. “I love that guy. He just wants to sit down and watch a good movie.”
Movie nights quickly bonded English’s current household, which he shares with teammates Spallina, Finn Thomson, Michael Leo, Jimmy McCool and Michael Grace. It’s their go-to activity. The six unwind from the daily grind to bask in Christopher Nolan movies like “Interstellar” and “Oppenheimer,” or watch entire movie series like Toy Story and Kung-Fu Panda.
“Whether it’s Finn or Joe or Jim or Leo or Gracie, I can sit down and hang out with them at any given time,” English said. “It’s been really helpful for my mental state.”
Sam English looks to pass to Finn Thomson during a March 2, 2024, game between Syracuse and High Point. Thomson’s chemistry with English has increased ever since the two began living in the same household this summer. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Their most memorable couch marathon came early this fall. One night, English and his roommates discussed their picks for the best films of all time. “Return of the Jedi” was brought up, and Thomson admitted he hadn’t seen any Star Wars movies before.
While that revelation might’ve offended English’s inner child, he was enthralled at the chance to show Thomson what he’d missed out on.
The roommates burned through the first six Star Wars movies in one sitting; they didn’t watch the last three, since English and Spallina don’t think they’re any good.
English then hatched a plan for the six to dress up as Star Wars characters for Halloween — a night they still laugh about, English said. Grace went as Darth Vader, Spallina was Obi-Wan Kenobi, McCool was Chewbecca, Leo was Yoda and Thomson was Anakin Skywalker.
As for English’s costume, Thomson — a newfound Star Wars fan — knew exactly who his captain resembled best.
“Sam was Han Solo,” Thomson said. “Because he’s the man.”
Thomson is part of a junior class at Syracuse that’s formed a strong bond with English. Stevens said English emphasized taking pressure off players in that class — made up of Thomson, Spallina, Leo and Luke Rhoa, among others — which often shouldered the bulk of SU’s responsibilities.
English maintained personal relationships with them throughout the season, Stevens said, and he became their outlet. Meanwhile, Thomson said English has grown more vocal this year. It’s easy to listen to English, Thomson said, because he’s been in their shoes before.
Spallina said English has filled Stevens’s role as the “old guy,” and he’s increasingly leaned on him heading into this year. SU’s No. 22 believes English understands the pressures of meeting the program’s standard. English tells Spallina to embrace it.
For someone who has played major roles on multiple NCAA Tournament teams, weathered the Canadian lacrosse scene and starred at the United States’ top private school, English is a resource Spallina aims to emulate.
“Sam’s obviously been in every scenario,” Spallina said. “There’s going to be pressure (on me) whether we win or not, and Sam definitely helps me be me.”
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Spallina added English’s experience dishing the rock to lethal attackmen at Princeton gives him confidence in continuing to enhance their chemistry. March said English’s distribution is something he wants to increase this season, calling it his strongest trait.
Syracuse’s offensive coordinator has full confidence in English’s ability to be a difference-maker in the midfield and elevate the program to national title status. March is impressed by how English commands every room he walks into and has become the Orange’s calming presence whenever things get chaotic.
“I think he’s ready to try to prove himself,” March said of English’s mentality in 2025. “He’s very well established, but I also think that, obviously, he wants to be holding that trophy up at the end of the year.”
How English plans to get his mind right throughout Syracuse’s national title quest should be no surprise. In the same way movies influence his life and relationships off the field, they do on the field, too. English straps his headphones on and listens to film scores before every contest, namely compositions from John Williams and Hans Zimmer.
“That’s my go-to for whatever I’m doing,” English said. “It’s been so big for me and my game.”
He said it’s a routine he began at Princeton. At times, he was anxious, or struggling to end a slump. But the high-tempo soundtracks calmed him and allowed him to lock in on the opposition.
Even before his biggest moments on the field, English remains a kid at heart. So, as English blares Williams’ “Duel of the Fates” pregame like he’s about to engage in a lightsaber battle, he’ll feel right at home, as unbothered as his favorite science-fiction heroes.
Photograph by Aidan Groeling | Staff Photographer
Published on January 29, 2025 at 11:27 pm
Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews
