#7 Men's Lacrosse Routs Defending Champions #5 Notre Dame

Saturday, April 5

Syracuse, N.Y.

2 p.m.

Syracuse University

9-2, 2-0ACC

Notre Dame

5-3, 1-1ACC

Notre Dame

Syracuse

#7 Men's Lacrosse Routs Defending Champions #5 Notre Dame

4/5/2025 4:20:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Tickets Highlights Press Conference Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 7/No. 7 Syracuse men's lacrosse took down the defending national champions No. 5/No. 5 Notre Dame, 14-9, in front of the largest home crowd of the season Saturday afternoon inside the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Orange (9-2, 2-0 ACC) earned their first win over the Irish since 2018 thanks to a 6-0 second quarter and nine-goal run that spanned 30 minutes and 52 seconds. Joey Spallina paced 'Cuse offensively, recording four goals and dishing one assist. Owen Hiltz (2g, 2a), Michael Leo (2g), Sam English (2g), Wyatt Hottle (2g), Payton Anderson (1g, 2a), and Trey Deere (1g) all recorded a goal for Syracuse, while Luke Rhoa (1a), Tyler McCarthy (1a), and Tyler Cordes (1a) also notched points in the contest.

Notre Dame (5-3, 1-1 ACC) was led in scoring by Chris Kavanagh (2g, 2a) and Devon McLane (2g) with two goals each. Six other Irish players recorded points in the contest.

John Mullen showed up big for 'Cuse at the X and on the ground, winning 16 of his 23 faceoff attempts and leading the team with 11 ground balls.

How It Happened

Notre Dame controlled the game early, as Matt Jeffery got the Irish on the board first just 1:35 into the contest. Devon McLane scored twice to give ND a 3-0 lead with 11:03 in the opening frame.
Anderson started the momentum shift for Syracuse, notching a goal with 4:09 in the first before Sam English would back him up with a goal of his own just 32 seconds later.
Spallina converted a man-up opportunity to start the second quarter and tie the game at 3-3, kicking off an onslaught of Syracuse offense. Spallina (3g), English (1g), Leo (1g), and Hottle (1g) all recorded goals in the second frame to post a 6-0 second quarter and an 8-3 lead for 'Cuse going into halftime.
The second half was a dogfight, as both teams failed to get on the board for almost 12 minutes. Hiltz notched his first of the game thanks to an assist from Cordes with 3:17 in the third to give the Orange a 9-3 advantage and cap off a nine-goal scoring run, before Notre Dame would score twice in the last 1:10 of the third frame to take a 9-5 Syracuse lead into the final 15 minutes.
The last quarter saw nine total goals scored, the most of any quarter today. Notre Dame and Syracuse traded goals before a 3-0 scoring run midway through the quarter gave the Orange a 13-7 lead.
Notre Dame could not mount the comeback, falling to Syracuse for the first time since 2018 with a final score of 14-9.

Behind The Numbers

Syracuse moves to 9-2 for the season and 2-0 in ACC play.
The Orange move to 7-1 inside the JMA Wireless Dome this season
'Cuse picked up their first win against a defending national champion since 2017, when they defeated North Carolina, 12-11, in overtime.
Syracuse's defense stifled Notre Dame in the first half, holding the Irish scoreless for 39 minutes and 53 seconds, the largest scoring drought by an opponent against Syracuse all season.
Spallina's five points this afternoon catapulted him to 216 career points, passing Mike Leveille (215) and Paul Gait (212) for the 14^th most in Syracuse program history.
Syracuse was a perfect 2-of-2 in extra-man opportunities thanks to Spallina and Deere. 'Cuse's man-down defense held down ND, only allowing one man-up goal in four opportunities for the Irish.
Today's attendance was 11,268; the most fans of the season and the first game attended by 10,000+ fans inside the Dome since 2015.

Up Next

Syracuse travels to Uniondale, New York to face Cornell, currently ranked first in both polls, next Saturday, Apr. 12, at 4 p.m.
The Orange will return to the JMA Wireless Dome for Senior Day and Alumni Day against North Carolina on Apr. 26. Tickets are available at Cuse.com/tickets.