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Syracuse moved to No. 18 in Inside Lacrosse’s weekly rankings, getting into the top 20 for the first time since March 7, 2022. 

The Orange received votes in the preseason, but only made the jump into the rankings after three straight wins to start the season. SU narrowly defeated Vermont 7-5 during opening weekend but went on to much more comfortable wins over UAlbany and Holy Cross.

Syracuse avenged last year’s new low when it fell to an unranked Great Danes’ side 14-12. The Orange played “sloppy,” head coach Gary Gait said postgame, but this year they made quick changes from the previous week’s offensive embarrassment. Joey Spallina drastically improved on his own by attacking faster from the X, finishing with five goals on seven shots against UAlbany after scoring just once on 15 attempts against the Catamounts. Alex Simmons had four assists as well in the 20-7 win.

Two days later, the Orange defeated the Crusaders 15-6, holding them to two goals in the first two quarters. Spallina tallied five goals again and fellow freshman Finn Thomson, who was a nonfactor against UAlbany, recorded four scores. SU opened the game on a 5-0 run before going on a 9-0 run in the second and third quarters. 

SU’s defensive performances have also been a huge step forward from last season, when Dave Pietramala’s unit only held an opponent under 10 goals once. Despite coming against weak nonconference opponents, this is the first time Syracuse has held opponents to single digits in scoring for three straight games since the end of the 2019 regular season. 

The Orange head to College Park to face No. 9 Maryland on Feb. 18. The defending champions fell from No. 2 in the rankings after being upset by No. 11 Loyola 12-7 this past weekend. Maryland hadn’t lost since Virginia defeated it on Memorial Day weekend in the 2021 national championship. The Terrapins defeated the Orange 14-10 last season.

Published on February 13, 2023 at 11:16 am

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu