The college lacrosse version of the Heisman Trophy could etch another Orange player's name into its history books this year.
The Syracuse men's lacrosse team will take the JMA Wireless Dome field on Sunday night (5 p.m. ET) against Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Orange finished the regular season at 11-4 and then were bounced in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament by North Carolina to end up at 11-5.
The Orange are seeking the school's first national championship since 2009.
When they take the field on Sunday against the Bulldogs, they'll be doing so with one of the best players in the country on their side: Attack Joey Spallina.
The senior, who is the school's all-time leading scorer, was just named as a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
A senior from Mount Sinai, N.Y., Spallina has 30 goals this season to go along with 45 assists (75 points). He had multiple goals in 11 of 16 games this season to lead the vaunted Orange offense.
He was recently taken No. 3 overall in the Premier Lacrosse League Draft.
How many Syracuse players have won the Tewaaraton Award?
If Spallina is able to capture the award, he'll join a select list in SU history.
On the men's side, the only winners are: Mike Leveille (2008) and Michael Powell (2002, 2004). The award has been given out since 2001.
No Syracuse women's player has ever won the award despite the sustained success of the program.
The awards for this year will be announced on May 28.
Also on campus
--The Syracuse men's basketball team is reportedly looking to play an exhibition contest against Siena this upcoming season. However, the game wouldn't take place in Syracuse, it would take place in Albany. Why? A handful of reasons.
1) Syracuse reportedly doesn't like staging exhibition games at home because of the high cost of doing so.
2) If Siena were to host the game, it would give the university a chance to properly honor Gerry McNamara, Gavin Doty, Francis Folefac and Tasman Goodrick. All four helped Siena make the NCAA Tournament this past season and the school would use the game as an opportunity to raise the MAAC championship banner at the MVP Arena.
--The Syracuse women's lacrosse team will play on Friday night against Loyala Maryland in the NCAA Tournament. You can read up more on the SU women here, thanks to our own Tom Goslowski.
--The Jacksonville men's lacrosse team is also in the NCAA Tournament, and they are led by a Syracuse alum.
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