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After Syracuse’s loss to Maryland on Feb. 15, head coach Gary Gait said the Orange “have to learn how to win.” A defeat to Harvard seven days later proved they still have some studying to do.

SU is 0-2 against teams currently ranked in Inside Lacrosse’s Top 20 Poll and 3-0 versus unranked teams through three weeks. It’s not a sustainable method to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. But now, every game on the Orange’s schedule is exponentially important following a loss to a Crimson team they were expected to beat.

Syracuse’s offense — which averaged 18.33 goals per game during its 3-0 start — was held to pedestrian totals in its last two losses. Seven goals against the Terrapins. Only four second-half goals while blowing a five-goal lead to Harvard. The Orange need a bounce-back game, and on paper, they’ve got one this Saturday, taking on a 1-3 Utah squad.

Here’s what to know before No. 11 Syracuse (3-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) treks out west to battle Utah (1-3, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) Saturday in Salt Lake City:

Sophia Burke | Design Editor

All-time series

Syracuse leads 1-0.

Last time they played …

The Orange defeated the Utes in the two teams’ lone prior matchup on Feb. 21, 2024, in the JMA Wireless Dome. Despite turning the ball over 18 times, Syracuse poured on 18 goals in an 11-goal rout of Utah. The win improved SU to 4-1, while the Utes sank to 0-3.

Former Syracuse faceoff specialist Mason Kohn won 14-of-18 battles at the X, propelling SU’s attack to receive an abundance of chances. The Orange had 10 different goal scorers, led by Joey Spallina’s game-high seven points — three goals, four assists — and a hat trick from Finn Thomson.

The Utes report

On the opening weekend of college lacrosse, it seemed Utah was destined for another solid season in its fourth year under head coach Andrew McMinn after handling then-No. 19 Ohio State 19-13 in Columbus. Since then, it’s been close loss after close loss.

Utah’s currently on a three-game losing skid. But it was only outscored 34-30 across defeats to Delaware, then-No. 14 Denver and Vermont — which Syracuse beat 13-5 on Feb. 7.

The Utes’ early-season lag should be taken with a grain of salt, though. They went from an 0-3 start to winning the ASUN in 2024 and have won the conference in two of three seasons under McMinn.

Utah is led by junior attack Ryan Stines and freshman attack Luke McNamara. Stines was a member of the preseason Tewaaraton Award Watch List and has racked up a team-high 17 points through four games in 2025, following up on his 67-point 2024 campaign. Stines is the Utes’ main distributor, but McNamara is proving to be the Utes’ most lethal goal scorer, totaling 10 tallies to pace the team in his first year.

On the flipside, Utah ranks 39th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Lacrosse Reference. Its defense is led by close defender Nikko DiPonio, a junior coming off an All-ASUN First-Team selection in 2024. DiPonio leads the Utes with 33 ground ball pickups, the most among all defenders in Division I.

How Syracuse beats Utah

It’s a plain and simple formula for SU this season. If Spallina dominates, the Orange win. If he doesn’t, their offense is static, and they lose. Syracuse has seemingly shied away from filtering its offense through Spallina’s facilitation at X recently. If the Orange want to deliver a get-back performance Saturday, that’s exactly what they need to do.

According to Lacrosse Reference, SU ranks ninth in the country in offensive efficiency at 35.7%. But the Orange’s efficiency dipped below 30% in two of their five games thus far. Both were losses and featured Spallina being held to one or fewer points in the second half.

Syracuse’s ball movement and signature cross-field skip passes from Owen Hiltz, Thomson and Co. don’t dissipate when Spallina isn’t running the show. Still, everything is easier when you get your best player the rock. The Orange need to let Spallina dictate their offense, whether that’s through his passing ability or by freeing him up in the screen game to let him test Utah goalie Colin Lenskold — who’s accumulated a vulnerable .478 save percentage in four games.

Stat to know: 2,056

Saturday will be the furthest west Syracuse men’s lacrosse has traveled for a regular-season game since facing Georgetown in Carson, California, on March 12, 2005. The distance from The Daily Orange house on 230 Euclid Ave. to Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium is a whopping 2,056 miles, per Google Maps.

The Orange are set to fly westward on Thursday, so minor jet lag shouldn’t be an issue. However, Salt Lake City sits at an elevation of 4,265 feet, and it’s safe to assume not many of SU’s players have performed in such high altitudes before.

Player to watch: Luke McNamara, attack, No. 45

A three-star recruit from Missouri, McNamara burst onto the scene to begin his NCAA career. He unloaded for five goals in Utah’s season-opening victory over Ohio State.

McNamara has kept production consistent through four games, scoring in each of them while boasting a ludicrous .800 shot-on-goal percentage on 25 attempts. His 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame, paired with his quickness and shooting precision as a left-hander, could give Syracuse’s close defenders some trouble Saturday.

Published on February 26, 2025 at 10:49 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews