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Back in late January, Joey Spallina said Syracuse knew what it must accomplish for the program to regain national prominence. He recognized the “Orange Standard,” in which head coach Gary Gait preaches, has been missing for a while.

Heading into the NCAA Tournament, though, the Orange had checked most of the boxes to signify their return to lacrosse’s aristocracy.

Eleven regular-season wins. Signature upsets over Johns Hopkins and Duke. A 3-1 record within a gauntlet of an Atlantic Coast Conference. It all culminated in a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, clinching SU’s first postseason appearance of Gait’s tenure.

A premature exit in the ACC Tournament following a botched rematch against Duke elicited concerns for Syracuse heading into mid-May. And those concerns flowed throughout the JMA Wireless Dome as it trailed 9-8 to Towson at halftime of its NCAA Tournament first-round bout.

At that point, Spallina was SU’s main source of offense, while its defense faltered in one-on-one matchups and goalie Will Mark struggled to solidify the final layer of protection — he was 0-for-6 in first-quarter save chances, fresh off being pulled versus the Blue Devils.

Still, like Spallina said before the 2024 season began, the Orange know they can leave no stone unturned by playing their brand of lacrosse. They did just that.

Gait’s squad unleashed a 9-0 run in the third quarter, the consequential stretch needed for No. 4 seed Syracuse (12-5, 3-1 ACC) to defeat Towson (13-4, 7-0 Coastal Athletic Association) 20-15 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Spallina put together one of his best performances of the season, tallying a game-high eight points. SU’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2017 pits it against No. 5 seed Denver in the quarterfinals on May 19, a matchup which coincidentally takes place in Towson, Maryland.

“We gained some valuable experience today,” Gait said postgame following his first postseason victory as a men’s lacrosse head coach. “…We know that our next effort is going to have to be a better one if we want to continue playing lacrosse in May.”

The early portion of the game featured a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair. Though while Syracuse’s offense came from long, meticulous possessions, Towson scored at will.

Owen Hiltz and Alex Roussel traded goals to start the contest, then Spallina got on the board by darting out from X and finishing on the right side past Tigers goalie Luke Downs. Yet almost as soon as Towson cleared following a Finn Thomson turnover, it answered via a goal by Chop Gallagher to make it 2-2.

Rocco Mareno then beat Mason Kohn on the ensuing faceoff and the Tigers scored less than a minute later as Josh Webber bounced a shot on the run past Mark — warranting Gait to call timeout at the 7:43 mark.

Out of the timeout, Syracuse’s attack moved with a sense of urgency. Christian Mulé passed from X to find Hiltz, who scored his 35th goal of the year off a twister finish. Then, Thomson set a screen for Spallina, allowing the latter to hit the former with a feed on the left side as Thomson netted a goal on a wraparound to give SU a 4-3 lead.

“(We took) advantage of the way they were playing us and having guys like Owen (Hiltz), Jake (Stevens) and Finn (Thomson) and (Michael) Leo, all those guys — they all shoot the hell out of the ball,” said Spallina, who finished with a game-best four assists. “So it makes my job pretty easy just to get them the ball.”

But Towson continued to make it look easy once it controlled the ball.

The Tigers garnered a quick goal from Gallagher and though Stevens matched it with a goal of his own, Mikey Weisshaar scored two straight to put Towson up 6-5 at the end of the first — as Mark was 0-for-6 on save attempts by then.

Spallina was the catalyst behind Syracuse’s offense picking up the slack its defense left behind. To start the second quarter, he danced outward from X and slotted a sidearm shot home, tying the game at 6-6. SU’s star attack had contributed to four of SU’s first six goals.

Yet from the 12:16 mark of the second quarter until the 5:30 mark, neither side netted a goal. The firepower from the first quarter was quelled, as Mark’s timing improved to make occasional saves, while Towson slowed Spallina’s impact through stout man defense and keeping up with cutters off the ball.

Towson’s Roussel and Webber wound up netting the final two goals of the half, and Syracuse went into the break down 9-8.

Coming out of the locker room, though, the Orange returned a far different team. Gait said they adjusted by moving Leo down to attack, which presented unseen matchups for Towson’s back end — ones it was not prepared to stop.

“That was the key,” Gait said of the halftime adjustments. “And then ball movement, encouraging them to move the ball, find the open players. And we did.”

A fire was lit under the Orange as they scored nine consecutive goals to begin the second half. Ball movement was crisp and Syracuse’s key players on offense finished with consistency. It didn’t even need Spallina to dictate the offense anymore.

The fourth goal of the run was the most punctual of the night. Mullen took a faceoff victory over Matt Constantinides, bolted straight to the cage and fired a shot that Downs couldn’t handle. The faceoff man gave the Orange a 12-9 lead at that time, and Stevens completed a hat trick less than two minutes later to put them up four.

Within the blink of an eye, two goal contributions from Spallina — first an assist to Hiltz, then a lefty finish on the right flank — had Syracuse up 16-9, an advantage that continued to balloon in gaudy proportions.

Syracuse’s late dominance made last week’s 18-13 ACC Tournament drubbing at the hands of Duke seem like it was ages ago. Spallina detailed the offense’s mindset heading into Sunday’s contest, saying that they looked to dodge hard and spread the ball around — elements which lacked versus the Blue Devils.

And in a do-or-die setting, while responding to the peril in which Towson briefly threw upon the Orange, SU’s Spallina-led offense made the proper changes to move one more step toward fulfilling Gait’s “Orange Standard.”

“When (the ball) is just constantly spinning,” Spallina said, “I think we’re a very tough team to defend.”

Published on May 12, 2024 at 10:14 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews