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One minute before the faceoff in its season-opener against Vermont, Syracuse men’s lacrosse ruled midfielder Max Rosa out for the 2024 season, the program announced on social media. According to SU Athletics, the fifth-year midfielder suffered a lower-body injury last week during a preseason scrimmage the Orange held versus Michigan.

Rosa, a two-time captain in his tenure at Syracuse, was approaching his senior season. He earned an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season when he was a freshman. Rosa played sparingly in SU’s midfield in his first two campaigns, before he switched to a short-stick defensive midfielder in the 2021 season.

Since then, Rosa has appeared in 25 games through the last two years. In 2023, Rosa tallied his first career collegiate points with the Orange, scoring two goals and dishing out one assist. He was also an important depth piece on Sryacuse’s faceoff unit, where he picked up 14 ground balls and forced six turnovers on the wing.

Though the faceoff group made additions over the offseason, with graduate transfer Mason Kohn and freshman John Mullen set to be SU’s main faceoff specialists, Rosa’s loss hinders Syracuse’s wing depth for the foreseeable future.