#6 Orange Succumb to Fourth-Quarter Surge

Friday, May 1

Charlotte, N.C.

8 p.m.

Syracuse University

11-5

#5/#5 Seed North Carolina

12-3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Syracuse	1	5	2	2	10
North Carolina	1	3	3	5	12

5/2/2026 12:07:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Highlights

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A five-goal fourth quarter from North Carolina overcame a 9-7 Syracuse lead and handed the Orange a 12-10 defeat Friday night at American Legion Memorial Stadium in the ACC Men's Lacrosse Semifinals, dropping Syracuse to 11-5 on the season.

Finn Thomson, Michael Leo, and Luke Rhoa each finished with a hat trick for the Orange while Joey Spallina handed out four assists. John Mullen won 12 of 26 faceoffs against ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Brady Wambach, and collected 10 ground balls.

The Tar Heels (12-3) erased a two-goal deficit with a dominant final frame, outscoring Syracuse 5-1 after entering the fourth trailing. Owen Duffy orchestrated the UNC attack with six assists while Brevin Wilson paced the Tar Heels with three goals. Josh Marcus made 11 saves in the cage.

How it Happened

The game opened with a Luke Bair goal off a Duffy feed at 10:30 of the first quarter, but Luke Rhoa answered quickly on a Spallina assist to level the score at 1-1. The teams exchanged possession throughout the remainder of the frame, with neither side able to break through. Both offenses were active but McCool and Marcus each had moments early.
Syracuse seized control in the second quarter. Brevin Wilson put UNC back up on an unassisted tally before Michael Leo answered to knot the score at 2-2. The Orange then scored four straight: a man-up goal from Thomson off a Rhoa assist, a Payton Anderson tally set up by Spallina, and an unassisted Rhoa goal stretched the lead to 5-2. North Carolina clawed back with two Brady Wambach goals in 13 seconds to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Thomson beat Marcus with 12 seconds left in the half on a Leo assist to send the Orange to the break up 6-4.
The Tar Heels came alive in the third. Three straight UNC goals from Caden Harshbarger unassisted, Owen Duffy unassisted, and Dominic Pietramala off a Peter Thomann feed, flipped the lead to 7-6 North Carolina in a span of under three minutes. Syracuse responded with consecutive goals from Rhoa on a Spallina assist and Leo getting a dish from Anderson to go back up 8-7. Neither team scored the rest of the quarter, setting up a decisive fourth.
Quarter four belonged to North Carolina. Thomson capped a fast break off a Spallina feed to push 'Cuse ahead 9-7, but the Tar Heels answered immediately. Wilson scored on a Duffy assist, then Anthony Raio converted a man-up opportunity, also off a Duffy feed, to tie the game at 9-9. Luke Bair put UNC in front for good at 10:36 and Mason Szewczyk extended the lead to 11-9 with just under eight minutes to play. Leo scored unassisted with three minutes left to cut it to 11-10, but Brevin Wilson's third goal of the afternoon, assisted by Duffy with 1:46 remaining, sealed the result.

Up Next for Syracuse

The Orange await their NCAA Tournament fate as Selection Sunday approaches.
The NCAA Men's Lacrosse Selection Show is slated for 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
Check cuse.com for updates on Syracuse's tournament schedule and ticketing information.