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Syracuse men’s lacrosse (9-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) has been ranked No. 4 in the Week 8 Inside Lacrosse Poll, released Monday. After a 14-12 loss to No. 1 Notre Dame, Syracuse fell one spot. Syracuse climbed to No. 3 in the previous week, its highest ranking under head coach Gary Gait.

The stage was set for Syracuse to earn the No. 1 ranking in the country when it traveled to South Bend to face the top-ranked Fighting Irish. The Orange hadn’t won at Arlotta Stadium since 2017. Syracuse had lost six straight meetings with the Fighting Irish, including a 22-6 drubbing and a 22-8 blowout the last two times it played in South Bend.

Syracuse had the chance to put those demons behind them with a win on Saturday, but the Orange failed to do so. It all started at the faceoff X, where Mason Kohn and John Mullen combined to go 9-for-29. Gait admitted postgame that Kohn was sick all week, but decided to play.

“Mason Kohn wasn’t 100% today, but he wanted to play,” Gait said. “It’s been tough, he was under the weather all week and it showed he wasn’t at 100%. I give him a lot of credit for showing up.”

The performance at the X allowed SU to fall behind early, trailing 6-3 after the first quarter. Notre Dame’s advantage increased to five at halftime and then 13-7 going into the fourth quarter. That’s where Syracuse started to fight back. Three straight goals halved SU’s deficit and despite Eric Dobson breaking the run, Jake Stevens and Michael Leo scored to get the Orange within two with less than three minutes left.

Syracuse had some chances down two to cut it to one but ultimately came up short. Finn Thomson recorded a season-high three goals while Leo and Luke Rhoa added two as well. Will Mark tallied 15 saves and a 52% save percentage.

Up next for the Orange is their last nonconference opponent, No. 13 Cornell who they’ve only beaten once since 2018.

Published on April 1, 2024 at 10:42 am

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