SU drops season finale to UNC, will enter ACC tournament as No. 4 Seed

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse entered Saturday’s regular-season finale against North Carolina knowing precisely what was at stake.

With the loss, Syracuse missed the chance to claim a share of the ACC regular-season title and the top seed in next week’s ACC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. Instead, the Orange needed a win over UNC to secure the No. 2 seed in next week’s ACC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. A loss would send them tumbling to the No. 4 seed — precisely what happened.

Despite a furious late rally, No. 11 Syracuse fell 14-12 to North Carolina at the JMA Wireless Dome, closing their regular season with a second straight loss.

It was a gut-wrenching way to close the regular season for Syracuse (10-5, 2-2 ACC), which has now dropped three straight games entering the postseason.

The Orange showed heart down the stretch, scoring three goals in the final 90 seconds to nearly erase a five-goal deficit. Joey Spallina appeared to score again with 30 seconds left to pull Syracuse within one, but after video review, the goal was disallowed for a crease violation, sealing UNC’s win.

“Was it in? I don’t know, but the refs wanted to look at it. It was their call,” said Coach Gary Gait. “It wasn’t North Carolina; it was the referee’s call to do that in the last four minutes. 

The mistakes started early and piled up. Syracuse struggled at the faceoff, winning just 11 of 28 faceoffs, and lost the ground ball battle 36-29. UNC outshot the Orange 59-40, including a significant advantage in shots on goal.

Even when Syracuse forced turnovers, it couldn’t consistently clear the ball, finishing just 10-for-17 on clears. This combination was rough and kept UNC in control for most of the afternoon.

Syracuse opened the game strong, patiently using nearly the full shot clock before Spallina connected with Michael Leo for the first goal. UNC answered immediately, converting off a rebound following a Jimmy McCool save.

Owen Hiltz put the Orange ahead again off a Spallina assist, but a physical, defensive-minded first quarter kept scoring low.

Michael Grace’s beautiful bounce shot — straight from a Little League coach’s playbook — gave Syracuse a 4-2 lead. But UNC answered with a four-goal run, tying the game and eventually leading 6-4 at halftime. Syracuse’s struggles at the faceoff X (just 3-for-12 in the first half) loomed large.

In the second half, Dominic Petrimala, who finished with six goals, consistently delivered for UNC whenever Syracuse threatened.

UNC head coach Joe Breschi said postgame that both Pietramala and fellow attackman Owen Duffy had been nursing injuries but returned to full strength this week. It showed.

“Pietramala’s such a smart lacrosse player,” Breschi said. “He puts himself in great position, and when teams slide, he’s able to move the ball and snap it when he needs to.”

After cutting the deficit to 6-5 early in the third quarter, the Orange watched UNC push the lead to 10-7, helped by costly Syracuse penalties, including a two-minute cross-check to Billy Dwan.

In the fourth quarter, UNC cashed in on man-up opportunities to extend its lead to 11-7 and later 14-9 after Petrimala’s sixth goal.

UNC head coach Joe Breschi said after the game that both Pietramala and fellow attack Owen Duffy had battled injuries in recent weeks but returned to full health before Saturday’s matchup. That boost made a clear difference.

North Carolina built its lead to 13-8 with less than five minutes remaining, and when Brevin Wilson hammered home another goal at the three-minute mark, the Dome began to empty.

But Syracuse wasn’t done.

The Orange ripped off a frantic stretch of offense, scoring three goals in less than three minutes. Sam English and Greg Elijah-Brown sparked the run, with Johnny Mullen stepping up at the X after earlier struggles. Spallina, who finished with five assists, orchestrated the attack, helping Owen cut the deficit to two with 37 seconds left.

Mullen won another crucial faceoff to set up Spallina’s would-be goal, but the crease violation call ended any hopes.

Despite being thoroughly outplayed statistically, Syracuse’s resilience was evident in the final moments, as they moved the ball quickly, played freely, and created high-quality looks.

“You know what? They just played free, went to the net, and made plays,” Gait said of his team’s late-game surge. “You know, they found the open guys; they weren’t thinking about what they needed to do.”

But it was too little, too late.

Now, Syracuse heads into the ACC Tournament needing to find answers quickly.

Instead of celebrating a top-two seed, the Orange will have to regroup and find a way to stretch the sharp play they showed late against UNC across a full 60 minutes — or risk seeing their season end earlier than expected.