The Orange survived an opening round thriller with Yale to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second consecutive season.
The Syracuse University men's lacrosse program survived an opening round thriller on Sunday night, beating Yale 16-15 in the NCAA Tournament at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange will now advance to the quarterfinals against No. 3 North Carolina. That game will be played on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET in Hempstead, N.Y.
In advance of that game, here are some of the things you need to know about SU men's lacrosse:
Third time a charm?
The Orange have suffered two losses against North Carolina this season, falling 14-9 in the regular season and 12-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals.
Both of those games were played in North Carolina and perhaps the neutral site game in New York will benefit Syracuse in this matchup.
Of note, Joey Spallina, the all-time leading scorer for the Orange, did not register a goal in either of the prior contests.
Spallina says goodbye to the Dome
Speaking after Sunday's win, Spallina said he finally realized that that was probably his last game ever at the JMA Wireless Dome.
He called it the best place to play lacrosse in the entire country and praised the knowledgeable fan base. A four-year star, Spallina was just taken No. 3 in the PLL Draft, and he'll begin his professional career once Syracuse's run ends.
He's hoping that run ends in a national title, which Syracuse is seeking for the first time since 2009.
Royalty in the building
Casey Powell, one of the greatest lacrosse players in college lacrosse history, was in attendance for Sunday's win, posting a picture to social media.
As noted by Syracuse archives:
Casey holds the record at SU for most assists in a NCAA Tournament game when he scored eight against Loyola in 1997. He also ranks fourth on SU’s career NCAA Tournament assists list (22) and is tied for fifth for most NCAA Tournament points (45).
He holds the record for single-game points with 13, which he scored against Virginia in 1997. In the same year, he scored 83 points, tying for 10th place on the single season points list. He is also tied for 13th on the same list for his 78 points in 1998. As a freshman, he scored 67 points, ranking him fourth all-time among other first-year players. Casey scored 278 points in his four years, placing him second on the Orange’s career list, in between Michael (1st) and Ryan (3rd).
Ryan and Mike are his brothers. Casey was a four-time All-American.
Fans showed out all season long
As noted by Syracuse lacrosse sports information director John C. Stark on social media:
This is the first time since 1990 @CuseMLAX has averaged more than 7,000 fans per game at home.
Gait-Era Home Attendance
2022 - 31,277 (3,910)
2023 - 38,089 (4,232)
2024 - 45,676 (4,568)
2025 - 59,464 (5946)
2026 - 56,605 (7076)
The appetite for lacrosse in Central New York is certainly strong, and Syracuse did its part to fill that. First off, the team was good. Second off, the schedule was good as well. Syracuse played No. 1 Maryland at home, as well as playing conference foes like Virginia and Duke.
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