No. 7 Syracuse silences doubters with statement win over No. 5 Notre Dame

After falling behind 3-0 in the first four minutes of the opening quarter, No. 7 Syracuse men’s lacrosse responded with a 9-0 run that lasted nearly 33 minutes in a 14-9 win over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday.

The Orange extended their regular-season winning streak to six games and snapped a seven-game losing streak against Notre Dame in front of 11,268 fans—the largest Dome crowd since 2015.

It marked Syracuse’s first victory over the Fighting Irish since 2018. The win also came on Head Coach Gary Gait’s 58th birthday, adding extra meaning to the day.

“I’m not big on birthdays, so it’s just another day,” Gait said. “But they made it a special one this year. I appreciate all 11,268 of them, so thank you all.”

The win was a significant statement for a Syracuse team that had lost earlier in the season to then-No. 6 Maryland and No. 15 Harvard. But junior Joey Spallina said the team didn’t let outside opinions affect them.

“I think people think we’re not good in the big games,” Spallina said. “But we don’t care about that. We don’t care about what anybody outside our locker room says.”

Freshman Payton Anderson made a significant impact in just his second career start, scoring the first goal for Syracuse. Anderson’s effectiveness at X gave Spallina more space to operate above the extended goal line. Spallina credited associate head coach Pat March for scheming up effective positioning.

Notre Dame declined to speak to the media after the game.

Key stats:

• Spallina scored four goals and finished with five points.
• Sophomore Johnny Mullen won 16 of 23 faceoffs, dominating Notre Dame’s Will Lynch.
• Graduate Sam English added two goals.
• Junior goalie Jimmy McCool made 10 saves.
• Syracuse won the ground ball battle 31-24, went 2-for-2 on man-up opportunities, and held Notre Dame to 1-for-4.

Spallina scored a hat trick during the 9-0 scoring run. Anderson got Syracuse on the board with a highlight-reel goal before English netted his first, ending the first quarter down just 3-2.

Thirty-seven seconds into the second period, Spallina tied it on a man-up goal, then gave the Orange the lead with another at 11:53. English junior Michael Leo and sophomore Wyatt Hottle also scored, and Spallina capped his hat trick to close the half.

Fifth-year senior Owen Hiltz capped the 9-0 run in the third quarter.

During that span, Notre Dame had two goals disallowed—one after a successful Syracuse challenge and another for offsides.

Notre Dame’s leading scorer, senior attackman Chris Kavanagh, was held to just one assist in the first half. Graduate Jake Taylor, their second-leading scorer, was kept off the scoresheet entirely through two quarters. Kavanagh finished with two second-half goals, and Taylor added one late.

The Fighting Irish cut the deficit to 10-6 in the fourth quarter, but Syracuse responded with a 3-0 run to put the game away.

The Orange return to action Saturday, April 12, at 4 p.m. when they face No. 1 Cornell at Mitchell Field in Uniondale, New York.