Syracuse beats North Carolina 13-11

Syracuse reached NCAA men’s lacrosse Championship Weekend for the second straight season with a 13-11 quarterfinal win over North Carolina on May 16 at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York. The sixth-seeded Orange improved to 13-5, while the third-seeded Tar Heels fell to 13-5, according to NCAA results. Joey Spallina scored three goals and added three assists, Finn Thomson scored three times, and goalie Jimmy McCool made 12 saves for Syracuse. The victory also sent Syracuse into a semifinal against No. 2 seed Notre Dame, the official NCAA bracket showed. ### How did Syracuse close out a game that was tied in the fourth quarter? Syracuse broke a 10-10 tie with three straight fourth-quarter goals, local reports said, after North Carolina had erased earlier deficits and pushed the game into the closing stretch. WSYR reported that the Orange scored three unanswered goals to secure the two-goal margin. Syracuse’s official recap said the team held North Carolina to five second-half goals. (ncaa.com) North Carolina had built a 6-2 lead in the second quarter before Syracuse worked back into the game, according to local coverage. The Orange had also lost twice to the Tar Heels earlier in the season, making Saturday’s result their first win over North Carolina in three meetings in 2026, Syracuse’s athletics site said. (msn.com) ### Which Syracuse players produced the numbers that mattered most? Joey Spallina led Syracuse with six points on three goals and three assists, according to the NCAA box score. Finn Thomson added three goals, Luke Rhoa had two goals and one assist, and Wyatt Hottle contributed one goal and two assists. John Mullen also scored twice, including a faceoff goal, the NCAA statistics showed. Jimmy McCool finished with 12 saves and 11 goals allowed over 60 minutes, according to NCAA statistics. (msn.com) Syracuse outscored North Carolina despite committing 19 turnovers and going 17-for-23 on clears, while the Orange collected 39 ground balls. ACC postseason statistics listed Syracuse with a.522 save percentage in the game. ### What did the game say about Syracuse’s defensive effort? North Carolina scored 11 goals after putting up 24 in its first-round NCAA tournament win over UAlbany on May 9, NCAA records showed. (ncaa.com) Syracuse’s defense limited the Tar Heels well below that first-round output and held them to five goals after halftime, according to Syracuse’s official recap. Billy Dwan III made a key defensive play in the fourth quarter, according to Inside Lacrosse and Syracuse-area coverage, helping preserve Syracuse’s lead in the closing minutes. Daily Orange described the game as a defensive battle, and NCAA statistics showed both teams were held scoreless for nearly the first 14 minutes. (ncaa.com) ### What does this result change in the tournament bracket? The NCAA bracket lists Syracuse against Notre Dame in one national semifinal after the Orange’s win and Notre Dame’s 15-9 quarterfinal victory over Johns Hopkins. The other side of the bracket was still being completed on May 17, with Princeton playing Penn State and Georgetown facing Duke in the remaining quarterfinals. (insidelacrosse.com) Syracuse had reached the quarterfinals by beating Yale 16-15 in the first round on May 10, while North Carolina advanced with a 24-6 win over UAlbany on May 9, the NCAA tournament page showed. Those results set up the quarterfinal meeting between the ACC programs in Hempstead. ### Where does Syracuse go from here? (ncaa.com) Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia, will host the semifinals on Saturday, May 23, and the championship game on Monday, May 25, according to NCAA.com. Syracuse’s next opponent is Notre Dame, the No. 2 seed, as the Orange try to move from Championship Weekend into the title game. (ncaa.com 1) (ncaa.com 2)