What You Need To Know: Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse vs. UAlbany
By: Ryan Bridges | Men’s Lacrosse Beat Reporter
The 2022 season for Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse was certainly a forgettable one. The season had very few highs and many lows. However, there was no lower point than when SU traveled to UAlbany last season.
With the rain pouring down on Casey Stadium, the Orange fell to the Great Danes 14-12.
“It was an ugly game. We made a lot of mistakes, and technical errors,” SU Head Coach Gary Gait recalled. “We’ve certainly reviewed it and know that we have the ability to clean up all those different errors.” That loss marked just the third time ever that UAlbany beat Syracuse. The first two triumphs came back in 2013 and 2018.
Last weekend, Syracuse took down Vermont, the defending American East Champions, 7-5. The Catamounts ended the Great Danes season last year when the two went head-to-head in the America East Tournament Semifinals. That one ended with a final score 17-7.
If SU wants to get back in the win column against its state rivals, it’ll need its offense to be more efficient. Syracuse totaled 44 shots against Vermont, but only registered 7 goals.
No player struggled to find the back of the net more than Joey Spallina. The Mount Sinai native had just one goal on 15 shots.
“There were some wide-open doorstep shots that unfortunately we didn’t finish,” Coach Gait said when talking about the team as a whole. “After watching the film, hopefully, we are going to see a much sharper and more energized offense.”
Thankfully for the Orange, they have a good defense they can lean back on. Goalie Will Mark earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week after only letting in five goals and recording a 72% save percentage against UVM.
Unlike Syracuse, UAlbany has not had their first game this season, so SU doesn’t have much to go off of when it comes to the Great Danes’ roster. It will be interesting to see how long UAlbany can stay in the fight considering Vermont held a lead late in the third quarter over Syracuse last weekend.
The battle inside the JMA Dome will commence at 6 p.m. CitrusTV will have live coverage of the game on Twitter along with video recaps after the game.
@RyanBridgesTV | rdbridge@syr.edu
