The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team looked to be finding its stride in 2025 after back-to-back losses to the Maryland and Ohio State. They allowed only seven goals in their next two contests, taking wire-to-wire victories over Michigan and Duke 19-7 and 14-7, respectively. However, the Irish had their momentum halted in the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, as they were stymied in a 14-9 defeat to No. 7 Syracuse.
Notre Dame jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the opening four minutes. They continued to get scoring production from the midfield, as freshman Matt Jeffery got the scoring started before graduate Devon McLane added two more. The Irish would not score again until the 1:10 mark in the third quarter, coinciding with a 9-0 Syracuse run. It began with two goals from the Orange to finish the first frame, cutting the deficit to one after 15 minutes. The rookie Payton Anderson got them on the board before midfielder Sam English scored under a minute later to make it 3-2.
The second quarter was all Syracuse, the Orange scoring six while leaving the Irish attack blocked. Joey Spallina, the team’s leading point-getter, had been quiet in the first quarter. That would change in the second, however, as Syracuse’s talisman notched three of their six goals. He began the run by capitalizing on a man-up opportunity to tie the score at 3-3. He scored again on a pretty, no-look setup from Tyler McCarthy a few minutes later. English then tallied his second of the day, followed by goals from Michael Leo and Wyatt Hottle. Spallina capped off the onslaught with a little over a minute remaining, securing his hat trick and giving his team an 8-3 going into halftime.
Owen Hiltz, who leads the Orange in the goal department, got in on the action in a low-scoring third, extending Syracuse’s lead to 9-3. Notre Dame finally broke their goal drought as junior midfielder Will Maheras cut the lead to five. His goal sparked a 3-0 Irish run with senior Chris Kavanagh scoring in the dying seconds of the quarter and senior attacker Jeffery Ricciardelli adding another to start the fourth. Leo and Kavanaugh traded the next two goals of the contest, as Notre Dame looked to stay in the game down three. However, as their offense ran cold again, the Orange put together a 3-0 run in the following six minutes that iced the game. Spallina got it started with his fourth of the day. Hottle’s second came next before Spallina set the table for Trey Deere in the man advantage, extending the lead to 13-7. Graduate attacker Jake Taylor and junior Max Busenkell found the back of the net in the closing stages for a little window dressing, but after Hiltz added on one more for Syracuse, the Orange took the 14-9 win.
In a dominant defensive display against the defending champs, Syracuse’s top performers arguably did not even feature in the goal column. The matchup between John Mullen and senior Will Lynch, two of the best draw specialists in the country, was a defining one and one that Mullen owned all game. The sophomore won 16 of his 23 faceoff attempts and scooped 11 ground balls in the game, helping the Orange dominate possession, particularly during their 9-0 run that spanned 30 minutes and 52 seconds. Also pivotal during that stretch was the play of netminder Jimmy McCool. The sophomore played to his namesake, unfazed by one of the nation’s best attacks. He allowed only nine goals in the contest while making ten saves, several of them worthy of the highlight reel. It was only the second time this season Notre Dame failed to reach a double-digit goal output.
After falling to 5-3 and 1-1 in conference play, the Irish are set to return home and face Virginia on Saturday evening in their penultimate game of the ACC schedule.
