Leo Calls Game in Overtime at Penn

Sunday, March 1

Philadelphia, Pa.

Noon

Syracuse University

4-2

Penn

2-3

Syracuse

Penn

3/1/2026 3:50:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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PHILADELPHIA – Finn Thomson scored three goals and Michael Leo found the back of the net in overtime as No. 7 Syracuse rallied from a four-goal third-quarter deficit to defeat No. 19 Penn, 9-8, Sunday afternoon at historic Franklin Field.

Syracuse (4-2) trailed 8-4 heading in the third quarter after Penn scored three unanswered goals in the third to seize control, but the Orange refused to fold. Billy Dwan tied the game at eight with 9:45 remaining in regulation before Jimmy McCool and the Syracuse defense held firm through the final minutes to force overtime.

Leo then delivered the decisive blow, ripping home an unassisted goal at the 3:24 mark of the extra period to close out the comeback and send the Orange to their first road win of the season.

Leo finished with two goals and two assists for four points, while Thomson's hat trick helped carry the Orange offense. Joey Spallina added a goal and three assists for four points of his own as

Syracuse spread the points across eight different players. McCool made 10 saves in 60-plus minutes of action to earn the win in net.

Penn (2-3) was led by two goals and two assists from freshman Jackson Maher and two goals from Davis Provost. Griffin Scane added a goal and an assist. Jack Pelot made 10 saves in the loss.
The two programs met for the first time since 2002, with Syracuse extending its all-time series lead to 27-1-1. The Orange are now 12-0-1 in road games against the Quakers.

How it Happened

Thomson opened the scoring early in the first quarter, finishing off a feed from Bogue Hahn at the 11:57 mark to put the Orange up 1-0. Penn tied the game three minutes later on a goal from Davis Provost. The Orange man-up unit struck again at 8:12 as Greg Elijah-Brown finished a feed from Leo.
The Quakers scored back-to-back to take a 3-2 lead on goals from Jackson Maher and Nate Lucchesi with 5:36 left in the first quarter.
Then Syracuse surged for another two goals, both with the man advantage. Leo scored with 45 seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game 3-3. Ted Rawson posted his third of the season with a cross-crease finish from Spallina. That was the last goal the Orange scored until late in the third quarter.
Penn got the final two goals of the half from Matt McMillen and Griffin Scane four minutes apart as the Quakers took a 5-4 lead into the break.
The Quakers scored the next three goals to double up Syracuse, 8-4, the final of which came at 4:14 of the third and was the last Penn goal of the afternoon.
Spallina started a five-goal run for the Orange, driving his defender to score with 2:48 left in the third. Thomson and Spallina connected with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, cutting the gap to 8-6.
Early in the fourth, Thomson got a feed from Wyatt Hottle and made it a one-goal game. With just under 10 minutes left to play, close defenseman Billy Dwan III caught a feed on the Quaker crease from Leo. Dwan then spun and scored back-handed to tie the game 8-8.
Both defenses locked in for the final 10 minutes of regulation, particularly the Orange who allowed just six total shots in the fourth, half of which were on goal.
John Mullen won the overtime faceoff and got the ball down to the offense. Leo came down the alley on the far side of the field, got goalside on his defender before scoring the game-winning goal just 26 seconds into extra time.

Behind the Numbers

Thomson recorded his second hat trick of the 2026 season, finishing with three goals on four shots with six ground balls.
Leo's overtime winner was his second goal of the game and came unassisted, capping a four-point afternoon.
Spallina collected three assists to go with his goal, totaling four points and playing a central role in the fourth-quarter rally despite being largely quieted in the first half.
McCool improved to 4-2 on the season, stopping 10 of 18 Penn shots on goal in 60-plus minutes of action.
Syracuse out-ground balled Penn, 23-18, and both teams finished with 10 saves apiece.
Penn controlled faceoffs, winning 12 of 18 draws, but the Orange were able to overcome the possession disadvantage with their fourth-quarter surge.
The win was the 965th in program history for Syracuse, the second-most all-time among Division I programs

Up Next for Syracuse

The road trip continues as the Orange head for Baltimore next weekend.
Lacrosse's two winningest programs, Syracuse and Johns Hopkins, square off on Saturday, March 7 with a 1 p.m. faceoff at Homewood Field.