Second-Ranked Orange Host Hawks Saturday

No. 2 SYRACUSE (1-0) vs. rv Saint Joseph's (0-0)
Game Details	Saturday, February 7, 2026 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| Noon ET
Game Coverage	Live Coverage: Stats Stream: ACC Network Extra Listen: Cuse.com \| TK99/105 \| Learfield IMG College \| Cuse App \| Varsity App \| TuneIn \| WAER Twitter: @CuseMLAX Instagram: @CuseMLAX Facebook: CuseMLAX
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes
Saint Joseph's Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes

THE GAME
- Game two for one team and game one for another is up next at the JMA Wireless Dome as No. 2/No. 3 Syracuse hosts a Saint Joseph's team that is receiving votes. The Orange dispatched No. 16/No. 17 Boston University 13-6 in the 2026 lidlifter while the Hawks' season opener against NJIT was scratched due to cold weather in the Midatlantic Region over the weekend.
- Saturday's noon game on ACC Network Extra will be the first-ever meeting between Syracuse and Saint Joseph's on the men's lacrosse field. The Hawks will be the only Atlantic 10 team Syracuse faces during the regular season.
- The Orange spread the rock in Sunday's win as eight different players produced at least one point, with five picking up multiple points. Joey Spallina led the way with five points (3g, 2a) as he brought his career total up to 251 points, just three shy of surpassing head coach Gary Gait's 253 (192g, 61a) for eighth all-time. Spallina's first point on Sunday, a goal late in the first quarter, broke a tie in ninth place at Syracuse with the late Rob Kavovit.
- Saturday is the team's annual laCROSSe Out Cancer Game to help raise funds and awareness for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. The PCRF purpose is " To raise funds to accelerate scientific breakthroughs that transform pediatric cancer care so kids with cancer can spread their wings and soar."
- Just one common opponent graces the schedules for these two programs as both sides take on Duke. Syracuse meets the Blue Devils on March 28 at the JMA Wireless Dome while the Hawks take on Duke in Durham on March 1.
- ACC Network Extra will carry Sunday's game with AJ Myers and Adam Gotkin on the call.
- Tim Leonard and Kyle Fetterly will have the radio call for the Syracuse Sports Network on ESPN Radio Syracuse this week. Fans can also catch radio broadcasts on Cuse.com, The Varsity App, and TuneIn App, as well as Syracuse University student-radio station WAER.

THE GAUNTLET
- The 2026 Syracuse men's lacrosse schedule shied away from no one.
- Of the other 19 teams ranked in the USILA Division I Preseason Coaches Poll, Syracuse will face half of those teams during the regular season's 15 games: No. 1 Maryland, No. 3 Princeton, No. 5 Georgetown, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 11 Duke, No. 13 Harvard, No. 14 Virginia, No. 16 Boston University, and No. 17 Johns Hopkins.
- The Orange will face Colgate, Saint Joseph's, Air Force, and Denver as well, all of which received votes. Taking in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, all 15 teams on the Syracuse slate this season are at least receiving votes, including Penn in the receiving votes column.
- This year's 15 opponents combined to go 142-94 last season, a 60.2 winning percentage, while each team on the calendar this season has made the NCAA Tournament at least once since 2022.
- Syracuse has one of the most difficult schedules in Division I this year. Syracuse, Maryland, and North Carolina will all face 10 teams ranked in the top 20 of the Inside Lacrosse Division I Preseason Media Poll, but the Orange have the toughest slate among those three. Syracuse's average for preseason ranked teams is 9.2 while North Carolina is second at 10.1 and Maryland checks in with a 10.6 average.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE DOME...
- As the saying goes, there's no place like home - doubly true when it's the JMA Wireless Dome.
- Syracuse opens the 2026 seasons with a three-game home stretch. In 2025, Syracuse started the season with three home games, resulting in three straight home wins. Already the Orange are off and running at home with a 1-0 record.
- Last year, the Orange only faced one ranked opponent in the three-game home streak. This season the Orange will start their season against #16/#17 Boston University, a Saint Joseph's team receiving votes, and then face #1/#1 Maryland on Friday, Feb. 13.
- The Orange will be gone from the Dome for six straight games, hitting five states - Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Colorado - before returning on March 22 against the Georgetown Hoyas.
- Syracuse is 31-3 in season openers at home since the Dome opened.
- 'Cuse is 279-56 all-time in the JMA Dome since the 1981 season after taking down No. 16 Boston University at the start of the 2026 season.
- Syracuse is 25-13 in the Dome under head coach Gary Gait, including an 17-4 record since 2024, going 8-2 in both 2024 and 2025.
- Postseason play returned to the Dome for the second year in a row. Winning both NCAA home Tournament games in the past two years, the Orange took down #12/#15 Towson in 2024 and #12/#13 Harvard in 2025.
- The eight home wins last season are the most since the Orange went 8-1 at the Dome during the 2016 campaign. The eight home wins are the second-most for the Orange since joining the ACC for the 2014 campaign, one shy of the 9-0 mark in 2015.

A WIN ON Saturday WOULD...
- Be Syracuse's second-straight win against a first-time opponent to start the 2026 season.
- Start the Saint Joseph's all-time series with a win, making it 1-0
- See the Orange win their 280th win in the JMA Wireless Dome.
- Be the 963rd win in program history, the second-most all-time among Division I programs.
- See the Orange start a season off 2-0 for a fourth straight year. Syracuse opened 2023, 2024, and 2025 all 3-0.

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Players Mentioned

Joey Spallina

Syracuse University Athletics