Syracuse men’s lacrosse releases 2021 schedule, expectations set high

This year’s season looks different than years past, as there will be no ACC Tournament due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. To still have a complete season, schedules have been restructured. All ACC teams will play home-and-home series (one home game, one away game) with two league opponents, on top of the traditional model of playing each team once throughout the season.

With that being said, Syracuse will be facing off against Virginia (Feb. 27, Apr. 24) and Notre Dame (Apr. 3, May 1) twice this year, respectively.

The 2021 schedule also sees the Orange face some new opponents in their first homestand. Syracuse will play Vermont (Mar. 6) as well as Stony Brook (Mar. 12) for the first time in program history. This stretch of home games will end against Hofstra (March 20), a team that the Orange have not seen in regular season play since 2003.

A standout matchup for the Orange comes in their first road game, when they travel to Durham, North Carolina to play Duke in late March (exact date TBA). This could prove to be Syracuse’s toughest test of the season, as the Blue Devils are ranked just above Syracuse in the USILA Preseason Poll, currently sitting in the No. 1 spot.

In the final game of the season, Syracuse will face Utah in the Dome on May 8. This will come just after the Orange complete their respective series with Virginia and Notre Dame in back-to-back road contests.

Taking a look at this season’s roster, Syracuse earned seven total selections— the most out of any program— as Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans. Included in this seven are three first-team selections: midfielders Brendan Curry and Jamie Trimboli, as well as goalkeeper Drake Porter.

The team also named their five official captains for this season earlier this week. Curry, Trimboli, Porter, Stephen Rehfuss and Peter Dearth will lead the Orange for their 2021 campaign.

Dearth, a redshirt-senior, is now the first three-time captain for the Orange in program history, having been a captain in the past two seasons. Curry and Trimboli were also captains for the 2020 season.

This veteran leadership, along with several talented returning offensive players and a strong incoming freshmen class, has resulted in Syracuse being ranked No. 2 in the USILA Preseason Poll and No. 3 in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Poll. Coming off of an undefeated 2020 season (5-0) that was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orange are fired up and ready to get right back to where they left off.

“There’s a lot of seniors, a lot of guys coming back that we felt like we got something taken away from us last year,” said Curry when discussing the team’s all-in mentality for this season. “So, we’re just super excited to get back on the field, kind of give this thing one last hurrah.”

Porter went on to further discuss expectations for this upcoming season, matching Curry’s sentiment of an all-in mentality and making things quite clear. With a roster that clearly has considerable talent, experience, and depth, the Orange will be a powerhouse in the ACC.

“Our goal is a national championship and anything less than that, in our eyes is a failure.”