#12 Syracuse Topples #6 Notre Dame, Advances To ACC Title Game

Friday, May 2

Charlotte, N.C.

5 p.m.

Syracuse University

10-5

#6/#6 Notre Dame

8-4

Syracuse

Notre Dame

#12 Syracuse Topples #6 Notre Dame, Advances To ACC Title Game

5/2/2025 8:25:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 12 Syracuse University men's lacrosse team never trailed Friday on the way to a 14-12 victory against No. 6 Notre Dame in the semifinals of the ACC Championship at American Legion Memorial Stadium. With the victory, the Orange advance to Sunday's ACC title game.

Syracuse (10-5) scored the first three goals of the tilt and led by as many as four as the Orange defeated two-time defending national champion Notre Dame (8-4) for the second time on the campaign.

Owen Hiltz paced the Orange with six points (5g, 1a) with Luke Rhoa and Greg Elijah-Brown both adding a pair of goals. Joey Spallina dished out a team-best three assists with Michael Leo tallying two of his own. John Mullen went 21-of-26 the faceoff circle and ACC Goalie of the Year Jimmy McCool made a career-best 20 saves.

Will Angrick (2g, 2a) and Devon McLane (2g, 2a) led the Fighting Irish in scoring with Chris Kavanaugh also netting two goals. Notre Dame had nine different goal scorers while goalie Thomas Ricciardelli made 14 stops.

How It Happened

Syracuse started the contest on a 3-0 run in the opening 4:55 to force an early Notre Dame timeout. Hiltz broke the ice on the opening possession before Billy Dwan III and Luke Rhoa added goals of their own.
Following two Notre Dame goals, Rhoa found the scoreboard again to push Syracuse ahead 4-2 with 3:15 left in the first quarter, but the Fighting Irish tacked on another goal just over a minute later to get back within one entering the second.
Notre Dame struck first in the second quarter to tie the game, but Hiltz responded at the 8:03 mark to give the Orange back the lead. Then, on the ensuing faceoff, John Mullen secured the ball and scored just six seconds after Hiltz's tally to give Syracuse a 6-4 lead. After another faceoff win, Payton Anderson connected for a third Orange goal in a span of just 21 seconds to make the score 7-4. Sam English scored a fourth unanswered Syracuse goal with 6:28 left to give Syracuse its largest lead of the first half, 8-4.
The Fighting Irish scored the final two goals of the second to make the score 8-6 entering halftime.
After Notre Dame scored the first goal of the second half, Greg Elijah-Brown answered at the 10:21 mark to put the Orange up 9-7. Following that tally, play was stopped due to inclement weather.
Notre Dame was the first to score out of the near 50 minute weather delay, but Hiltz replied with a goal to complete a hat trick and restore Syracuse's two-goal advantage. After the Fighting Irish failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage, Finn Thomson converted on a precise feed from Leo with 2:52 remaining to make it 11-8, which would be the score at the end of the frame.
Elijah-Brown stretched the lead back to four, 12-8, in the opening minute of the fourth with a man-up marker. Following a Notre Dame tally, Hiltz scored his fourth of the game to again restore the four-goal advantage. Kavanaugh scored with 2:19 to go in regulation but Notre Dame could get no closer. Hiltz netted his fifth goal of the game into an empty net to polish off a 14-10 triumph.

Behind The Numbers

Syracuse held Notre Dame scoreless for nearly 16 minutes across the third and fourth quarters. After the Fighting Irish scored to make it 9-8 with 9:41 remaining in the third, Syracuse did not allow another tally until the 7:43 mark of the fourth.
Hiltz (8) and English (7) both extended their goal streaks while Hiltz took his streak of games with at least one point to 60.
Hiltz has scored 10 points (7g, 3a) in Syracuse's two meetings with Notre Dame this season. Spallina is close behind with eight points (4g, 4a).
This was the second time this season Mullen has won 20-plus faceoffs. His 21 faceoff wins were his most since he had 28 against Harvard on Feb. 22.
The Orange dominated the faceoff circle, finishing with a 21-8 advantage. Syracuse is 37-17 in its two games this season against the Fighting Irish on faceoffs.
For the second time this season, Syracuse's defense held Kavanaugh, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, to just two goals.
McCool's 20 saves were a career high. The ACC Goalie of the Year has made 15 or more saves in five of the last seven contests.
With his first-quarter goal, Dwan III moved into a tie for eighth in career points by a Syracuse defenseman (13), matching Mike O'Donnell (1984-87) and Kevin Sheehan (1983-86).
Syracuse returned the favor in the opening minutes on Notre Dame from the first meeting between the teams on April 5 that saw the Fighting Irish score the first three goals in the first four minutes.
This is Syracuse's first time advancing to the ACC championship game since 2016, the last time the Orange won the tournament.

Up Next
The Orange will set their sights on Sunday's ACC championship game, which is scheduled for a noon start on ACC Network. Syracuse will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal between second-seeded North Carolina and third-seeded Duke.